We are soon to complete on the purchase of a property in Newbury but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree recompense from the current proprietors in the sum of £2k taking the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of amending the contract however Yorkshire BS are not allowing this. Should they have been informed?
Any lawyer that is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is obliged to advise Yorkshire BS of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your lawyer to report the reduction to Yorkshire BS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Yorkshire BS and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Newbury.
The deeds to our house can not be found. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Newbury 4 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
As long as you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and secure up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Newbury with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it would impact my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
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 UK Finance website. UK Finance 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Newbury is the location of the property. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Newbury are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Newbury you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Newbury may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
Am I right to be wary about brokers that I am dealing with are suggesting an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Newbury conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many professional services, often referrals from connections can be most helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and banks might all recommend solicitors to retain. Sometimes these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that some banks operate an approved list of solicitors you must use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Newbury. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Newbury - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I inherited a 1st floor flat in Newbury, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Newbury with a long lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078
With only 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should 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.