Our family lawyer has sent a quote for £1200 for freehold conveyancing in West Norwood. I am looking to sell a Georgian house for £200,000. Is this over the top? Is it above the norm for conveyancing in West Norwood?
The quote is fractionally on the expensive side. If you shop around you might get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by say a hundred pounds. On the other hand, you mightcome to rue choosing an an unknown lawyer. Remember to be sure the firm can represent your bank. Do employ our comparison tool to locate a West Norwood conveyancing company on the lender’s approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in West Norwood.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in West Norwood? Is this really warranted?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering regulations require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the ID of the potential client they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt reaffirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. Where you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your solicitor can not take you on as a client.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in West Norwood. Do I collect the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in West Norwood?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in West Norwood off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Barclays. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a West Norwood conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance 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 West Norwood postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in West Norwood.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in West Norwood?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in West Norwood. 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 have been advised by numerous property agents in West Norwood to find a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to market your services rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t make any commission for sending work in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers. Many landlords or Management Companies in West Norwood levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in West Norwood state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in West Norwood. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the sum to be paid.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Norwood premises is 172 Knollys Road in February 2012. On 13 September 2011 District Judge Guinan made a vesting order and the proceedings were transferred to the tribunal for the purpose of assessing the premium which was subsequently calculated to be £24,003 This case affected 4 flats. The unexpired term was 98.28 for 3 flats other than the garden flat which had 66.04 years remaining.