The Sawston conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Sawston have without warning shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and my preferred Sawston lawyer was not. I paid them money on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
My relative recommended that if I am buying in Sawston I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Sawston conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Sawston around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Sawston Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Sawston.
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in Sawston. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Barnsley Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. Is it worth asking Barnsley Building Society to clarify?
You need to read 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 Sawston 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 mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Sawston I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sawston in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
How do I locate a Sawston solicitor on the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am willing to travel upto 25miles to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the search on this page. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Sawston conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Sawston conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to see whether they are on the Nottingham Building Society member panel
I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Sawston. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Some leases for properties in Sawston do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.
I inherited a 2 bed flat in Sawston, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Sawston with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2094
With 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.