The sellers of the home we are hoping to buy have appointed a conveyancing firm in Old St Mellons who has insisted on a lock out contract with a down payment of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
There are a couple of main drawbacks with entering into any lock out contract (also termed a shut-out contract) is that it diverts attention away from progressing with the conveyancing process, so in the absence of it needing limited or no negotiation then it may transpire to be a hindrance. It is not promoted by Old St Mellons conveyancing solicitors as a result. The other main issue is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved purchaser is extremely unlikely to be granted injunctive relief to prohibit the owner disposing of the property to a third party, so the only remedy available under the agreement will be the recovery of abortive charges and, in rare situations, the extra payment of penalties.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Old St Mellons? Is this really warranted?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the ID of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing instruction. The Terms of Engagement that you need to sign should confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Where you refuse to hand over ID verification documents, your lawyer can not take you on as a client.
My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian property in Old St Mellons. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Old St Mellons and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.
I am purchasing a new build house in Old St Mellons with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it may impact my mortgage with Nationwide Building Society. Is this normal?.
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 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.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Old St Mellons ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to give a mortgage on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can look into this further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Old St Mellons. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am employed by a busy estate agency in Old St Mellons where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Old St Mellons conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.
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 buyer.
I bought a leasehold flat in Old St Mellons, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Old St Mellons with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078
With 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns 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.