My partner and I are acquiring a newly constructed flat in Leven and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong 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 lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Leven? Is this really warranted?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering regulations require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the ID of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign should reaffirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. If you refuse to provide identification documents, your solicitor will not be able to take you on as a client.
We're in Leven, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer 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 acquired my apartment on 8 April and the transaction details are still not registered. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Leven said it should be concluded inside ten days. Are titles in Leven uniquely lengthy to register?
There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Leven registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust according to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry must send notices to any 3rd parties. At present roughly 80% of submission are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be longer delays. Historically registration is effected after the purchaser has moved in to the property therefore an expedited registration is not always an essential issue but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers should contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Leven in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some lenders may not give a loan on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Leven. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Leven to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
We expect to complete the sale of our £300,000 flat in Leven next Thursday. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Leven?
Leven conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty to invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I purchased a garden flat in Leven, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Leven with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2084
With 59 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.