The owners of the property we are hoping to buy hired a conveyancing practitioner in Rocester who has recommended a exclusivity agreement with a deposit two thousand pounds. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
This form of preliminary agreement is unusual in Rocester, conveyancers are not keen on them as they detract from focusing on the main conveyancing focus and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the solicitor is left exposed. Furthermore, there is no certainty that just because the vendor has entered into a lock out contract they will complete the sale with you. They may be inclined to break the agreement if they receive a large enough financial inducement to do so because a wronged claimant with the benefit of a exclusivitycontract will still be duty bound to show losses as a consequence of the breach and these may not equalise the financial benefit that the owner may gain by reneging on the agreement, no matter how morally unworthy the behaviour is.
Our lender has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Rocester but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Rocester local to me. Can you assist?
Not all Rocester conveyancing practitioners are approved and listed on all banks conveyancing panel. Use our search tool to locate a Rocester conveyancing conveyancer on the on the mortgage company panel.
Will my conveyancer be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Rocester.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Rocester. Plenty of people will buy a house in Rocester, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Rocester. The standard information given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover if the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim resulting from an misleading answer. The buyer’s lawyers will also carry out an environmental report. This should disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be conducted.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Rocester. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should review 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Rocester and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
I'm buying a new build house in Rocester with a loan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it may affect my mortgage 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 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.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rocester from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rocester can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Rocester leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Rocester conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
Rocester Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying
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Many Rocester leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly accross the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the salability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. It is important to be aware whether redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared between the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one time payment.