I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Newmarket. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in July. I plan to dispose of the house. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the house in July. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The CML handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be affected by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the lender as this clause is principally there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by RBS. Is it usual for RBS to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Newmarket is approved on their conveyancing panel? RBS have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Newmarket solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Newmarket postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Newmarket.
Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Newmarket.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Newmarket. There are those who buy a house in Newmarket, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Newmarket. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the seller to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may bring a legal claim for losses resulting from an incorrect response. The purchaser’s lawyers may also commission an environmental report. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be initiated.
I am buying a new build house in Newmarket with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about the side-deal as it will put at risk my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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 CML website. CML 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.
Should I choose a Newmarket conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities however her office is 200kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a local Newmarket conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unfamiliar Newmarket conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Newmarket where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Newmarket conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.
I bought a leasehold flat in Newmarket, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Newmarket with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079
With 53 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £27,600 and £31,800 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 are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.
I was informed by my bank that their approved lawyers operate no sale no fee basis for conveyancing in Newmarket. My purchase fell through yet the conveyancers want search fees! They are claiming that the fees are independent!
By promising "no move no fee" Newmarket conveyancing lawyers are foregoing their charges for any work carried out. We should point out that this is NOT an insurance scheme. Disbursements aren’t covered – where the conveyancer have to pay money out to independent parties, for example Newmarket local search fees