When does exchange of contracts happen for sale conveyancing in Roker and am I required to be at the solicitors branch?
Where you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Roker you are invited in to sign contracts. However, the firms we recommend provide a national conveyancing service and give as equally diligent and professional a job for you when dealing with you by post or email. The signing of the sale agreement is not the important part. Signing on the dotted line is necessary for the firm to exchange contracts at the appropriate time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a lengthy "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Roker)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the TSB Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Roker?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
My wife and I own a terraced Georgian house in Roker. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Clydesdale. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Roker and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Roker I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Roker suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Roker with the aim of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Roker can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers. Many landlords or managing agents in Roker levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Roker. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Roker leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
I own a 1st floor flat in Roker, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Roker with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086
You have 61 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
To what extent are Roker conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to publish clear conveyancing costs?
Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are specific rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, constitute the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Roker or or elsewhere in the country.