In the event thatI was to buy a freehold propertyin Newtown for cash and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Newtown?
Any savings you would make would be limited to the Newtown conveyancing searches. The conveyancer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with the sellers solicitor, stamp duty return, register the title etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a mortgage however it will not be meaningful.
We are planning to purchase with Earl Shilton BS. I went into a few high street companies yet am struggling to find a Newtown conveyancing firm on the Earl Shilton BS panel. Can you help?
Feel free to make use of the search tool on this page. Pick the building society and type Newtown or your preferred area and you will see numerous conveyancers offices in Newtown or by proximity to you.
I am helping my step-mother sell her flat in Newtown. Will the solicitor commission an energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Packs, EPC’s was maintained a compulsory part of selling a property. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned prior to the property being advertised. This is not something that law firms ordinarily organise. If you are using a Newtown conveyancing solicitor they might be willing to arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with long established Newtown assessors
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Santander. Newtown conveyancing solicitors are chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Santander?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Santander conducted the survey? Have you informed Santander as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Santander conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I've 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 Newtown solicitor - who is on the Santander conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Newtown surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
A colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in Newtown I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Newtown conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Newtown around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Newtown Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Newtown.
How does conveyancing in Newtown differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Newtown come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because house builders in Newtown usually purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Newtown or who has acted in the same development.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Newtown where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Newtown conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.
Newtown Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying
-
Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Newtownlease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the property for 24 months in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Newtown require tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.