I am one month into the sale of my home in Wellesbourne and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Wellesbourne ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.
Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
IfI were to acquire a freehold homein Wellesbourne mortgage fee and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much should I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Wellesbourne?
Any savings you would make will be limited to the costs for searches. A lawyer is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, correspond with the vendors conveyancer, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. A slight saving might be made by not needing to register a charge but it will not be meaningful.
five months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Wellesbourne concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Wellesbourne differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Wellesbourne approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Wellesbourne tend to buy 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 conveyancers 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 Wellesbourne or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Wellesbourne is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Wellesbourne are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Wellesbourne you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wellesbourne may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I work for a busy estate agency in Wellesbourne where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Wellesbourne conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Wellesbourne - Sample of Queries before buying
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The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. You should want to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they can either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?