I am purchasing a property mortgage free in Kent. I have resided for the previous dozen years in Kent. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I know the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a home loan, then the vast majority of the Kent conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to consider; if you are going to sell the house in the future, it could be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes properties with functional issues can still reveal unfavourable search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Kent should be able to give you some practical advice here.
As someone not used to the Kent conveyancing process what’s your top tip you can give me concerning the legal transfer of property in Kent
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Kent or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for conflict between you and others involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the seller, selling agent and even potentially the mortgage company. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Kent is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the legal process whose responsibility is to act in your best interests and to keep you safe.
We are witnessing a definite ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be at fault for the process being so protracted. You your first instinct should be to trust your conveyancer ahead of the other players when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
I am purchasing my first flat in Kent with a loan from Alliance & Leicester . The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent told me not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Kent prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Kent. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
We're FTB’s - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent has warned us that the vendor will only go ahead if we use their preferred conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor who is accustomed to conveyancing in Kent
We suspect that the owner is unaware of this requirement. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you are going to instruct your preferred Kent conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothe ones that will provide the estate agent a commission or achieve conveyancing thresholds set by senior management.
Why do I have to provide my solicitor with numerous items of ID ahead of starting selling or purchasing a property in Kent?
Kent conveyancers are duty bound by the Law Society, Solicitors Regulation Authority, HM Land Registry and current AML legislation to certify that the have checked the identity of their clients. It will also be a condition of your bank if you are obtaining a mortgage. Furthermore they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to SDLT and need to have details such as your full names, national insurance number and DOB.