The vendors of the home we are looking to purchase have instructed a conveyancing firm in Slough who has recommended a preliminary agreement with a non-refundable deposit two thousand pounds. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
There are a couple of main downsides with entering into any lock out agreement (occasionally referred to as an exclusivity agreement) is that it can distract from progressing with the conveyancing process, so in the absence of it needing limited or no negotiation then it may transpire to be unhelpful. It is not strongly advocated by Slough conveyancing practitioners for this reason. The other main negative is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved purchaser is very unlikely to win an injunctive ruling by a court to prevent the vendor selling to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy available under the contract will be the recovery of abortive charges and, in restricted situations, the extra payment of penalties.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Slough? What am I being asked for?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identification documents of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you are required to sign should stipulate this. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the UK Finance Lenders Handbook requirements last updated on 1st December 2014. Where you are unwilling to provide identification documents, your solicitor would not be able to accept instructions from you.
I'm the single recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Slough. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in August. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in August. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this requirement chiefly exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
Is it the case that all Slough solicitor firms on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with TSB. Slough conveyancing practitioners were appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from TSB?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have TSB completed the valuation? Have you advised TSB as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the TSB conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to have this when purchasing a property in Slough? or I am told that there is a law dating back centuries that means some house owners residing in a parish church boundary may be liable to contribute towards repairs towards the chancel in proximity to the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Slough?
Unless a previous acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may assume that conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Slough to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
It has been 2 months following my purchase conveyancing in Slough took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Slough I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Slough in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.