Our lawyer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Ivybridge. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must check that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions 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 bank are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Ivybridge? What am I being asked for?
In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Ivybridge conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing matters. This is normally dealt with by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing your correct address.
Under Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are obliged by law to investigate not only the ID of conveyancing clients but also the origin of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this may result in your lawyer terminating their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your conveyancers are duty bound to inform the relevant authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Ivybridge before appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks will refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Ivybridge. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
We are a fortnight into a freehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the selling agent to carry out the conveyancing in Ivybridge. I am am starting to be disappointed with the quality of service. Can you help me find new conveyancers?
A conveyancer would need to be very bad to suggest replacing them. Has the loan offer been generated? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new contact details and ensure the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer needs to be on the banks panel to avoid escalating fees and frustration. That should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Ivybridge
I work for a busy estate agency in Ivybridge where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ivybridge conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Ivybridge - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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Please inform me if there are any major works in the near future that will increase the maintenance fees? It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service fees or necessitate a one off payment.
Is there an average conveyancing fee for conveyancing in Ivybridge?
The average fee last year for conveyancing in Ivybridge was £1,500 excluding SDLT and HMLR fees.