Finally the sale completed on my house in Thrapston last February but our buyer keeps calling me complaining that their conveyancer is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened following completion?
After completion of your house sale your conveyancer should deliver the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. If applicable, your conveyancer should also send confirmation that the mortgage has been discharged to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion steps specific conveyancing in Thrapston.
I am assisting my niece sell her flat in Thrapston. Does the conveyancer arrange the EPC or it is for the owner to see to?
Following the abolition of Home Packs, EPC’s was left as a compulsory element of moving house. An energy assessment needs to be commissioned prior to the property being marketed. It is not something that conveyancers ordinarily organise. If you are using a Thrapston conveyancing practitioner they might be willing to arrange energy assessments given their relationships with long established local assessors
We expect to receive a AIP from HSBC this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do HSBC recommend any Thrapston solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Thrapston solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the HSBC conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and HSBC through the process.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Thrapston property lawyer having made sure that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander 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 conveyancing practitioner 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 Thrapston postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Santander, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Thrapston.
I am buying my first flat in Thrapston with a mortgage from Nottingham Building Society. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it may impact my mortgage with Nottingham Building Society. 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 opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Thrapston in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks will not give a loan on this type of premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Thrapston. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My father-in-law has encouraged me to use his conveyancing solicitors in Thrapston. Do I follow his guidance?
No doubt it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to seek recommendations from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the firm that you are considering.
Last June I purchased a leasehold property in Thrapston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I inherited a split level flat in Thrapston, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Thrapston with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2084
With just 59 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.