I am purchasing a newly built apartment in Thurston and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Thurston?
There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Thurston and Solicitor practices in Thurston who provide Conveyancing services We would stress that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. The two can handle other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
I am helping my aunt sell her house in Thurston. Will the conveyancing solicitor commission the energy assessment or do I organise this?
Following the abolition of Home Packs, energy assessments was left as a compulsory component of moving property. An energy assessment needs to be to hand in advance of the property being placed on the market. This is not a task that solicitors ordinarily organise. If you are instructing a Thurston conveyancing practitioner they may be able to arrange EPC’s due to their relationships with reputable local energy assessors
Our sealed bid on a semi in Thurston has been accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on on an apartment, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Thurston. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Lloyds started?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Thurston conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your property lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Lloyds and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to press on with the conveyancing in Thurston.
Various internet forums that I have come across warn that are a common cause of delay in Thurston conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Thurston.
I'm buying a new build house in Thurston benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my conveyancer about the side-deal as it would jeopardize my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Thurston. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
It best that you clear the service charge as normal given that all ground rent and maintenance payments will be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Thurston Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying
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The majority of Thurston leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The answer will be useful as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure
I am thinking of using a web based conveyancer rather than a Thurston conveyancing practice. Any advice?
Advantages do exist in being able to pop in to a local Thurston conveyancing solicitor for instance
- signing papers and and when necessary
- often being able to speak to someone face-to-face can make a huge difference, particularly for more complex house moves
- the ability to raise concerns if things need to addressed
When checking fees, look out for hidden extras. The majority decent Thurston high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Many online companies seem to offer cheap fees, but have burried 'extras' in the small print.