I am helping my niece sell her house in Skewen. Does the conveyancer arrange the EPC or it is for me to coordinate?
Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, EPC’s was left as a compulsory part of moving property. An EPC must be to hand before the property is advertised. This is not as aspect of the sale process that solicitors normally organise. If you are using a Skewen conveyancing practitioner they might be willing to arrange energy assessments given their contacts with reputable Skewen providers
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Skewen. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Skewen?
On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Skewen. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be called to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
We had selected conveyancers with offices in Skewen on the Santander solicitor panel. They have just billed me a further amount for dealing with the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Santander?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer can charge a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Santander but by your Skewen solicitor. Some firms on the Santander panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
A colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Skewen I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Skewen conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Skewen around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Skewen Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Skewen Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Skewen.
I am buying a new build flat in Skewen. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Skewen
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared.
Should I choose a Skewen conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal work but her office is over three hundred miles away.
The benefit of a local Skewen conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Skewen know how is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unknown Skewen conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Skewen based.
What are the common problems that you witness in leases for Skewen properties?
Leasehold conveyancing in Skewen is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Skewen - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying
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Where a Skewen lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. Who is in charge of the block? The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants have control and although a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.
I am looking to buy a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Skewen who is on the bank conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a Skewen or local firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for the lender who carry out conveyancing in Skewen. We dont recommend any particular conveyancing practice.