My partner and I are looking to buy a property in St Annes Park and have appointed a St Annes Park conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Britannia have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our St Annes Park lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see 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 the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred St Annes Park lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in St Annes Park? Is this really necessary?
St Annes Park conveyancing solicitors and indeed property practitioners throughout the UK have an obligation under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to check the ID of any client with a view to ensure that clients are who they say they are.
Conveyancing clients will need to provide two forms of certified identification; proof of ID (usually a Passport or Driving Licence) and proof of address (typically a Utility Bill no older than three months).
Confirmation of source of funds is also required in accordance with the money laundering laws as solicitors are required to ensure that the funds you are using to buy a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the total purchase price where you are a cash purchaser) has come from a reputable source (such as an inheritance) and is not the product of criminal behaviour.
My colleague recommended that where I am purchasing in St Annes Park I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your St Annes Park conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about St Annes Park around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the St Annes Park Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, St Annes Park Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning St Annes Park.
I have recentlybeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in St Annes Park for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of St Annes Park conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in St Annes Park differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in St Annes Park come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because developers in St Annes Park tend to purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in St Annes Park or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Annes Park from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Annes Park can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers. Many freeholders or managing agents in St Annes Park levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Annes Park. A minority of St Annes Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a St Annes Park home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.
St Annes Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with their service. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. Can you tell me if there are any major works in the near future that will likely add a premium to the maintenance fees? What is the the remaining lease term?