We're in North Baddesley, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is TSB , and our lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer 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.
We previously chose conveyancing lawyers based in North Baddesley on the Virgin Money solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate charge for handling the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Virgin Money?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Virgin Money but by your North Baddesley conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Virgin Money panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.
My wife and I are spending time looking at apartments in North Baddesley and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a conveyancer appointed at this stage? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Yorkshire BS.
It would be advisable to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in North Baddesley. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Coventry BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in North Baddesley. Now, I need the documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in North Baddesley of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I'm purchasing my first flat in North Baddesley with a mortgage from Aldermore. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my lawyer about the deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
My father-in-law has suggested that I instruct his conveyancers in North Baddesley. Should I use them?
No doubt the best way to select a conveyancing lawyer is to seek guidance from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the solicitor you're are thinking of instructing.
I am employed by a busy estate agency in North Baddesley where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local North Baddesley conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
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 inherited a garden flat in North Baddesley, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in North Baddesley with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079
With only 53 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.