I am acquiring a newly built flat in Seaham and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and I don't want to delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Having sold my house in Seaham last July but the buyer keeps SMS messaging every few hours to say their lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?
Post completion of your house sale your solicitor is committed to forward the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the purchasers lawyers. There are no post completion procedures unique to conveyancing in Seaham.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Nationwide Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Seaham?
The first thing to point out is that, 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 for a fee.
About to purchase a new build apartment in Seaham. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Seaham
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please supply a car parking plan. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Seaham which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Seaham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Seaham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I invested in buying a split level flat in Seaham, conveyancing having been completed in 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Seaham with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2084
With 59 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
I am purchasing a garden flat in Seaham. Conveyancing lawyer has been awaiting, from the seller, building insurance documents. I was told today I was advised that the seller must send the insurance paperwork for the flat above as well. Why would my lawyer need to check the insurance for the flat above? Is it strictly necessary? We have been stalled for the previous 2 weeks…
It is not unheard of in leasehold conveyancing in Seaham to find Conveyancing in Seaham in a minority of cases reveals that the lease provides for the tenant's to insure their individual flats rather than the freeholder insuring the whole premises - which is clearly preferable. Do clarify with your conveyancer but it would appear that your solicitor is looking to verify that the whole building is insured. Insuring your apartment is no help when it comes to rebuilding after a fire if the other flat cannot be reinstated due to lack of insurance cover.