My previous conveyancer has quoted £1400 for fixed fee conveyancing in Southwater. I am hoping to downsize from a Edwardian property for £125,000. Is this over the top? Is it above what I should be paying for conveyancing in Southwater?
The charges are a tad high. If you are prepared to invest time contrasting charges you may be able to trim some of the expense by say a hundred pounds. On the other hand, you maycome to regret opting for an an untested lawyer. If is important to enquire the conveyancer can also act for your bank. You can use our search tool to get a quote a Southwater conveyancing firm on the banks member panel which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Southwater.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Southwater? Why is this being asked of me?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Southwater conveyancing firm will require proof of identity in all conveyancing matters. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill evidencing where you reside.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are duty bound to validate not only the identity of conveyancing clients but also the source of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may lead to your lawyer terminating their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your conveyancers are duty bound to notify the appropriate authorities should they believe that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
I am buying a new build house in Southwater benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my lawyer about the side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Southwater I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Southwater in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
I own a leasehold flat in Southwater. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Southwater who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Southwater conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Southwater Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
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What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Many Southwater leasehold apartments will have a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the landlord. Where you acquire the flat you will have to pay this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be surprisingly expensive. Are there any major works anticipated that will likely increase the maintenance charges?
My husband and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Southwater. At the point of instructing our property lawyer, they said that they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. The mortgage broker called today to advise that they are not on the Clydesdale approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Should we just pick a new conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or should we pay for separate representation, with Clydesdale selecting their own approved conveyancer.
If you are acquiring a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchaser’s solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a property lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the conveyancer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the property lawyer has to satisfy. Some building societies now insist their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should call Clydesdale to find out if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on Clydesdale's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Southwater solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.