My husband and I are looking to purchase a home in Saxmundham and are in fact using a Saxmundham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Saxmundham lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Saxmundham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My wife and I are buying a apartment in Saxmundham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Are all Saxmundham Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Is it the case that all Saxmundham solicitor practices on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
How does conveyancing in Saxmundham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Saxmundham approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because developers in Saxmundham tend to acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Saxmundham or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Saxmundham prior to instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to issue a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Saxmundham. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Saxmundham especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Saxmundham.
I was advised by a few selling agents in Saxmundham to select a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to market your site rather than another?
We don’t make any commission for directing people in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Saxmundham where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Saxmundham conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
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.
Saxmundham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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The majority of Saxmundham leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to enquire as occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Saxmundham obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block?