We went with a West Haddon based lawyer for our conveyancing in West Haddon recently. Reviewing the terms of engagement I noteI am on the hook for fees even if our purchase doesn't happen. Should I go with them or appoint an internet conveyancing brokerage who offer no completion no cost conveyancing in West Haddon?
Generally there is a compromise along the lines that if "No Completion No Fee" is available then the conveyancing charges will tend to be be higher to cover the transactions that do not go ahead. Also remember that such arrangements generally do not protect you from outlay for example West Haddon conveyancing search fees.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in West Haddon costs more?
In short, leasehold conveyancing in West Haddon and elsewhere usually necessitates extra hours of investigation compared to freehold transactions. This includes lease investigation, liaising with the landlord concerning serving appropriate notices, securing up-to-date service charge and management information, securing the landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different proprietor have owned the lease since it was first granted.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in West Haddon. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £150. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Having 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 West Haddon solicitor - who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own West Haddon surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
My sealed bid on a house in West Haddon has been agreed to, the owners do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The vendors have put an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in West Haddon. What should be my next step? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Clydesdale?
It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, West Haddon conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your property lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many purchasers would apply for the mortgage with Clydesdale and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in West Haddon.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in West Haddon?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in West Haddon. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I am buying a new build house in West Haddon benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my lawyer about this extras as it will impact my mortgage with Barclays Direct. Is this normal?.
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.
How much experience do your West Haddon conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?
West Haddon conveyancing lawyers help thousands of people move home every year and supported plenty of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique West Haddon conveyancers have worked on recent similar matters.