I plan on buying residence in Harrogate. My property lawyer is not listed on the bank conveyancing list. Is it possible for me to retain my Harrogate conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the mortgage company approved list?
One must have a lawyer to deal with the legal work required if you need a loan to purchase your property. They will carry out all the appropriate legal checks on the property, ensuring that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage documentation is dealt with. You may select a Harrogate conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. However, where the solicitor selected is not a member of the mortgage company approved list additional costs will be incurred as separate legal representation will be required by them. Conveyancing panel applications can be submitted, so if your conveyancer has not previously applied for membership they should take the chance to apply.
We are due to exchange buying a property in Harrogate but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree reparation from the owner in the sum of £2k in the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of a side agreement yet Co-operative will not permit this. Should they have been involved?
The lawyer being on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is required to inform Co-operative of any variations to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to disclose the reduction to Co-operative then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Co-operative and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Harrogate.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Harrogate costs more?
Harrogate leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
I completed on my flat on 9 November and the transaction details are still not on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Harrogate said it should be recorded in less than a month. Are transfers in Harrogate particularly slow to register?
As far as conveyancing in Harrogate is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry must send notices to any third parties. Currently approximately three quarters of submission are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but some can be subject to extensive hold-ups. Registration is effected once the new owner has moved in to the property thus an expedited registration is not usually top priority but where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer could speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
Should I appoint a Harrogate conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am buying? We have a good friend who can handle the legal work however his firm is located 200kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a local Harrogate conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Harrogate know how is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and they were happy that should outweigh using an unknown Harrogate conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Harrogate. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I acquired a basement flat in Harrogate, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Harrogate with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2099
With only 74 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.