My wife and I are about to exchange on the purchase of a property in Havant but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate compensation from the vendor of £3k in the form of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however RBS are not allowing this. Should they have been approached?
Any conveyancing practitioner that is on the RBS approved list is obliged to inform RBS of any changes to the sale price. If you were to refuse your conveyancer to report the reduction to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, RBS and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Havant.
Should lawyers request an advanced payment for conveyancing in Havant?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Havant your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is payable against the sale price then this will be required shortly prior to exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
How does conveyancing in Havant differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Havant approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because developers in Havant typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Havant or who has acted in the same development.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Havant prior to instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can look into this further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Havant. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Havant to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Havant where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Havant conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Havant Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
-
How many years remain on the lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge?
I acquired a house in Havant last 2/8/2024 and to date it is still not recorded with HMLR. It was part of a new estate and my solicitor told me that it can take 12 months to complete the registration formalities. I have called HM Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. Do I need to be concerned?
It is your property lawyer that you must get in touch with in order to satisfy any questions which have been raised as part of the registration process for your Havant property. Normal Havant conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the seller's conveyancer that they will assist in resolving any requirements raised by HMLR so it may be a case of taking action to enforce that undertaking in some way.