My husband and I are acquiring a new build duplex in Lapworth and my solicitor is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I don't want to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. 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.
Our mortgage company has recommended a law firm on their panel based in Lapworth but I would rather instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Lapworth local to me. Are you able to help?
The minority of Lapworth conveyancing practices are on all banks conveyancing panel. Please make use of our search tool to identify a Lapworth conveyancing solicitor on the on the bank panel.
I have been told that property searches are the main cause of hinderance in Lapworth conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Lapworth.
I have a semi-detached Edwardian house in Lapworth. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Virgin Money. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Lapworth and other areas of 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 buyers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
Last June I purchased a leasehold property in Lapworth. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I own a 1 bedroom flat in Lapworth, conveyancing formalities finalised January 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Lapworth with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2094
With 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
My wife and I have just had an offer agreed on a house and had an appointment on Wednesday with the Post Office for the mortgage. They advised me that when it comes to selecting a conveyancer that if they are not on their approved panel of lawyers then we will have to pay out a further fee of £200. This is is due to the fact that they will then have to instruct a solicitor to act on their behalf as well as the one we appoint on our behalf and we assume responsibility for their costs. I have asked the Post Office to furnish me with a list so I can seek estimates only from their approved solicitors but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is their an easier way of going about this?
Ask the Post Office what their criteria for joining their panel is for a conveyancer.Then ask the conveyancer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for the Post Office previously. Where the answer to those is yes, then just double check with the Post Office. Another option is to make use of our search facility and we should be able to find you a solicitor in Lapworth on the approved list for the Post Office.