My wife and I are acquiring a new build duplex in Heckmondwike and my lawyer is telling me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I don't want to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We're in Heckmondwike, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Santander , and our lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I am buying a house and the lawyer has raised the issue of Chancel Repair to which the house could be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has suggested insurance. Is this really necessary for conveyancing in Heckmondwike
Unless a prior acquisition of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you can expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Heckmondwike to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Heckmondwike. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Aldermore. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Heckmondwike and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a property in Monmouth but I am based in Heckmondwike. My solicitor (who is 200 miles awayhas requested that I execute a statutory declaration before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Heckmondwike to attest and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Heckmondwike
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Heckmondwike from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Heckmondwike can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder 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 nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled. You believe that you know 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 where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Heckmondwike state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
I purchased a basement flat in Heckmondwike, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Heckmondwike with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2101
With just 77 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £7,600 and £8,800 plus 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 are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.