My husband and I are planning to purchase a home in Wick and are in fact using a Wick conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Wick lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wick lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
The owners have rather assertive sellers who has suggested a preliminary contract with a deposit of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?
There are a couple of primary downsides with signing a lock out contract (sometimes termed a no-shop agreement) is that it takes away the focus from making progress with the conveyancing transaction itself, so unless it requires minimal or no negotiation then it may turn out to be a hindrance. It is not strongly advocated amongst Wick conveyancing practitioners as a result. The other main issue is the extent of the remedies available - a jilted purchaser should not expect to win an injunctive ruling by a court to stop the vendor selling to another buyer, so the only remedy available under the contract will be the recovery of abortive charges and, in rare scenarios, the extra payment of damages.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Wick benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
How do I use your search tool to find a conveyancing solicitor in Wick on the authorised to act for my lender?
1st choose a lender such as Halifax, Chelsea Building Society or Godiva Mortgages Ltd then type in your preferred area a common one being Wick. Conveyancing practices in Wick and further afield should be shown.
We are 3 weeks into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the selling agent to perform conveyancing in Wick. We are not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
A conveyancer would need to be really bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has your mortgage been generated? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new conveyancer and get the offer are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer should be on the banks approved list to avoid supplemental charges and frustration. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The search tool will assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Wick
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wick from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wick can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Wick levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wick. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Wick conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible. Some Wick leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.
I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Wick, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Wick with an extended lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079
With just 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.