The owners of the house we are hoping to buy hired a conveyancing firm in Somerstown who has recommended a preliminary agreement with a non-refundable deposit two thousand pounds. Are such agreements sensible?
Lock out agreements are contracts between a home owner and purchaser granting the buyer the sole right to the sale of the premises for a certain period of time. Essentially, an exclusivity is a document specifying that you should be issued with a contract at a later date which is the main conveyancing contract. It is generally used for buyer confidence though in some cases, the seller may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are many pros and cons to having an agreement but you need to check with your conveyancer but beware that it may result in costing you more in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these agreements are unusual in relation to conveyancing in Somerstown.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Somerstown? Why is this being asked of me?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign should stipulate this. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the CML Lenders Handbook requirements last updated on 1st December 2014. If you refuse to provide identification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you.
Is it correct that all Somerstown CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Lloyds conveyancing list of approved practices?
A selection of banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Nationwide are being pedantic. The Somerstown solicitor who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Nationwide are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nationwide have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Somerstown solicitor - who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Somerstown postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Somerstown.
I know that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need chancel insurance when buying a residence in Somerstown? or I am told that there is a law dating back centuries that means some homeowners living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for repairs towards the chancel within the church. Is this a legitimate concern for conveyancing in Somerstown?
Unless a prior purchase of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you may take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Somerstown to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Somerstown. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Somerstown
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Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Somerstown is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Somerstown are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Somerstown you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Somerstown may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.