My husband and I are acquiring a new build flat in Kingstanding and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I have no desire to delay deal. 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 specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
My fiance and I are purchasing a newly converted flat in Kingstanding with a mortgage from Virgin Money.We use our Kingstanding conveyancing practitioner but Virgin Money informed us he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Virgin Money panel solicitor or keep our preferred solicitor and pay for a Virgin Money panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The home loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that solicitors needs to be on the Virgin Money approved list. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Virgin Money
I have todaydiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Kingstanding for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Kingstanding conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Kingstanding differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Kingstanding contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because developers in Kingstanding typically acquire the site, 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 conveyancers 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 Kingstanding or who has acted in the same development.
Given that I will soon part with £400,000 on a house in Kingstanding I wish to have a conversation with the solicitor regarding thehouse move ahead of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?
Absolutely - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer due to be doing your conveyancing in Kingstanding.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a matter reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Kingstanding should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kingstanding with the aim of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kingstanding can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Kingstanding charge for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingstanding. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
I invested in buying a basement flat in Kingstanding, conveyancing having been completed March 2000. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Kingstanding with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2105
With 80 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.