Me and my partner are soon to exchange buying a property in Hebden Bridge but as a result of damage from some water damage at the property I have was able negotiate reparation from the current proprietors of £2k by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however Coventry BS are not allowing this. Should they have been approached?
The property lawyer being on the Coventry BS approved list is required to advise Coventry BS of any amendments to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your solicitor to notify the price change to Coventry BS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Coventry BS and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Hebden Bridge.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Hebden Bridge. My lender is Virgin
Virgin have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 10/12/2024, the requirements read as follows :
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Hebden Bridge. I have a mortgage offer with HSBC. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have 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 HSBC, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, RBS are being problematic. The Hebden Bridge solicitor who is on the RBS conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but RBS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do RBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
HSBC have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in Hebden Bridge has been agreed to, now what?
Your property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (make sure the conveyancers are on the lender’s panel). Contact HSBC or your broker and complete any relevant forms. HSBC will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to schedule an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. HSBC will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Hebden Bridge.
Am I better off to instruct a Hebden Bridge conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can execute the conveyancing but her office is a couple of hundredmiles away.
The benefit of a high street Hebden Bridge conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and they were happy that should trump using an unknown Hebden Bridge conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hebden Bridge from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hebden Bridge can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers. If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hebden Bridge state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. A minority of Hebden Bridge leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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.
Hebden Bridge Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will either make life much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other tenants what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.
Me and my husband have recently had an offer agreed on a flat and had an appointment on Wednesday with Leeds Building Society for the mortgage. They have informed me that when it comes to appointing a property lawyer that if they are not on their approved list of conveyancers then we will be subject to an an additional fee of £200. This is because they would then have to appoint a conveyancer to act on their behalf as well as the one we select on our behalf and we are liable for their invoice. I have asked Leeds Building Society to supply me with a list so I can request estimates only from their approved conveyancers but was told that I need to check with each individual solicitor to see if they are on the panel. Is there a simple way of finding out who is on a lender panel?
You can enquire of Leeds Building Society what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Thereafter ask the conveyancer of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on loans for Leeds Building Society historically. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Leeds Building Society. Alternatively please use our search facility and we should be able to identify a lawyer in Hebden Bridge on the approved list for Leeds Building Society.