My husband and I are purchasing a newly built apartment in Whitstable and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and my preference is not to delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
The Whitstable conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Whitstable have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel and my family Whitstable lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for £250 in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Skipton conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist.
Should our lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Whitstable.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Whitstable. Plenty of people will buy a property in Whitstable, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which will give them a better understanding of the risks in Whitstable. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the owner to find out whether the premises has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer may issue a claim for damages resulting from an inaccurate response. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also conduct an environmental report. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be made.
I have a terraced Edwardian property in Whitstable. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Birmingham Midshires. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Whitstable and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Whitstable benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this side-deal as it may jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. 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.
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At this site obtain a fixed fee quote via a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that has a full understanding of the issues of your conveyancing in Whitstable. As opposed to estate agents and brokerage sites we do not have kick-back arrangements with solicitors. Some agents and online brokers 'recommend' the firm who pay the most kickback, as opposed to the best value conveyancing in Whitstable