Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Shenfield costs more?
Shenfield leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as a 1st time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Shenfield. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Shenfield?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Shenfield property lawyer on the Aldermore panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Shenfield. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A few days later, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Will our solicitor be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Shenfield.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Shenfield. There are those who buy a house in Shenfield, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Shenfield. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the seller to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer could commence a legal claim for losses resulting from an inaccurate response. The buyer’s conveyancers will also conduct an enviro search. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be initiated.
I have todayfound out that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Shenfield for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I check that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Shenfield conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Shenfield differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Shenfield contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Shenfield typically buy the land, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Shenfield or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey done on a property in Shenfield ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to issue a loan on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Shenfield. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.