Me and my fiance are hoping to buy a 3 bedroom flat in Suffolk with a mortgage. We have a Suffolk solicitor, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to select one of the mortgage company panel firms or retain our Suffolk lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We consider that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Suffolk conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
IfI were to acquire a straightforward housein Suffolk mortgage fee and have no survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Suffolk?
Any savings you would make would be limited to the costs for searches. Your conveyancer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with the vendors lawyer, SDLT submission, register the ownership etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a mortgage but it will not be significant.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Suffolk costs more?
The conveyancing fees for a leasehold premises in Suffolk is frequently higher than on a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is because there is an amount of supplemental investigations required in liaising with the freeholder and managing agents to obtain evidence concerning whether the rent and service fee have been cleared and whether there are any large sums expected to be spent in the near future on repairs or maintenance of the building.
I got the keys to my flat on 4 June and the transaction details are still not registered. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Suffolk advises it would be formalised in less than a month. Are titles in Suffolk uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Suffolk registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can vary subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry must send notices to any other persons or bodies. Currently approximately 80% of submission are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be protracted hold-ups. Registration is effected once the purchaser is living at the premises so post completion formalities is not usually primary concern but if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer can speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Suffolk I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Suffolk suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
Given that I am about to part with 450k on a terraced house in Suffolk I wish to have a conversation with the solicitor regarding theconveyancing before instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
We could not agree more - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the solicitor due to be doing your property ownership legalities in Suffolk.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a matter reference. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Suffolk should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.