Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in St Nicholas costs more?
St Nicholas leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
is it true that all St Nicholas solicitor firms on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Clydesdale approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the CLC.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local St Nicholas solicitor - who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society 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 solicitor 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 St Nicholas postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in St Nicholas.
My sealed bid on a property in St Nicholas has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in St Nicholas. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Nottingham?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, St Nicholas conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Nottingham approved list. As to the subsequent steps this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of buyers would apply for a home loan with Nottingham and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with searches.
Should my conveyancer be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in St Nicholas.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors carrying out conveyancing in St Nicholas. Plenty of people will acquire a property in St Nicholas, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in St Nicholas. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the vendor to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s solicitors will also order an enviro report. This should reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations should be initiated.
I have recentlydiscovered that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in St Nicholas for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 9 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out 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 Nicholas conveyancing specialists.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in St Nicholas I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St Nicholas in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in St Nicholas for my house move. Can I check a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
One can read published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded telephone calls for training purposes.