My solicitor has identified a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Nantwich. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer says that he must check that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Are the Nantwich conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Bank of Ireland?
Nantwich conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Bank of Ireland directly.
My relative suggested that if I am buying in Nantwich I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Nantwich conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Nantwich around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Nantwich Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Nantwich.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Nantwich?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Nantwich. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Nantwich where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Nantwich conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Nantwich Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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Make sure you discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Nantwich. If you like the propertyin Nantwich however your dog can’t live with you then you have a very hard decision. This question is useful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have complete disclosure What is the service charge and ground rent on the apartment?
My wife and I plan to acquire our 1st home in Nantwich. Conveyancing lawyer has been selected. The mortgage adviser pointed out that a survey is not necessary as the house was only built in 1997.
You would be well advised to take a Home Buyer's Report. As the residence is more than 10 years old the property will not benefit from a warranty, so you don't want to take a risk. For a property that age with no signs of problems a Home Buyer's report could be enough. They will highlight any apparent issues and suggest additional investigation where relevant. Where there are any indications of material issues get a full Building Survey from the beginning.