My conveyancer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying in Seaton. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer has advised that he must check that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
My Solicitor in Seaton has never been on on the Nationwide Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Can I still use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Nationwide Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your preferred Seaton solicitors but Nationwide Building Society will need to instruct a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees as well as cause frustration.
- Choose an alternative practitioner to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are on the Nationwide Building Society panel
How does conveyancing in Seaton differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Seaton approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Seaton 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 used to new build conveyancing in Seaton or who has acted in the same development.
Is it best to go with a Seaton conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can deal with the conveyancing however her office is 400miles away.
The benefit of a high street Seaton conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Seaton know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were impressed that must trump using an unfamiliar Seaton conveyancing solicitor just because they are Seaton based.
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Seaton. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have recently had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal as all rents and service invoices will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Seaton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Seatonlease extensions you will need to own the premises for 24 months before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the tidiness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other people what they think of their service. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?
My boyfriend is buying a garden flat in Seaton. He has received an estimate by the property lawyer connected to the estate agents and it came to £1385 . It was 9 years ago since I sold and bought a home and the fee was £just under six hundred pounds. Have charges really escalated to that extent?
You should contact 3 or 4 local Seaton conveyancing firms seeking prices. You should base your decision not only on cost, but on promptness and on how comprehensive the reply was.