My husband and I are buying a brand new duplex in Seahouses and my lawyer is telling me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We hope to to purchase with Darlington Building Society. I dropped in 3 or 4 local companies yet am unable to find a Seahouses conveyancing firm on the Darlington Building Society approved list. Please you help?
Please do take advantage of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this page. Pick the building society and type Seahouses or your preferred area and you will discover a number of lawyer offices in Seahouses or nearest you.
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Seahouses and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Seahouses conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed an internet conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Seahouses. We have lived in Seahouses for 5 years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
I am purchasing my first flat in Seahouses with a loan from Alliance & Leicester . The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it would 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.
I need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Seahouses for my house move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Anyone can find presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor call for training requirements.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Seahouses where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Seahouses conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
I purchased a 2 bed flat in Seahouses, conveyancing formalities finalised May 2010. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Seahouses with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2101
With only 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns 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 based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.