The owners of the property we are purchasing have appointed a conveyancing firm in St Albans who has insisted on a preliminary contract with a down payment 6,000. Are such contracts the norm for St Albans conveyancing transactions?
Lock out agreements are contracts between a home seller and prospective acquirer giving the buyer the sole right to purchase the property within an agreed time frame. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity is a document specifying that you will receive a contract at a later time which is the contract for the actual sale. It tends to be utilised for buyer protection though in some cases, the proprietor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to using an agreement but you should to check with your lawyer but note that it may result in incurring extra in conveyancing charges. In light of this these contracts are rare when it comes to conveyancing in St Albans.
My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in St Albans. I I am struggling to find out whether they are on the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel. Could you assist?
The first thing to do is e-mail the lawyer and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively please call Barclays Direct who may be able to assist.
A relative recommended that if I am purchasing in St Albans I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your St Albans conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about St Albans around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding St Albans.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in St Albans. 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 conveyancing.
Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in St Albans
-
The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.
I work for a long established estate agency in St Albans where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local St Albans conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
St Albans Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
-
For most St Albans leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in St Albans ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. How is the lease structured? Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific invoice.
My husband and I are in the market for a trustworthy conveyancing solicitor in St Albans to help me sell my place. I am aware of the possibility of getting ripped off and there's lots of St Albans conveyancing firms to pick from...who do I opt for?
To fee estimates for your move from the conveyancing firms that provide services in St Albans please make the most of our quote tool.