My lawyer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Harlech. The other side have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor has advised that he must check that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. You and the lender are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Harlech
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Harlech and Solicitor firms in Harlech who provide Conveyancing services It is important to make clear that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. The two can conduct associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Harlech off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Nottingham. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Harlech. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £150. Not long after, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Skipton panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Harlech I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Harlech conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Harlech around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Harlech Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Harlech Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Harlech.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Harlech I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Harlech for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
My uncle has recommend that I appoint his lawyers for conveyancing in Harlech. Should I choose my own property lawyer?
No doubt the best way to select a conveyancing lawyer is to have recommendations from friends or relatives who have actually used the solicitor you're considering.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harlech from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harlech can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled. The majority of freeholders or managing agents in Harlech levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harlech. A minority of Harlech leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
I own a 1 bedroom flat in Harlech, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Harlech with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2102
With just 77 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £7,600 and £8,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.