The owners have rather brash sellers who has suggested a preliminary contract with a non-refundable deposit 10k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?

Lock out contracts are contracts binding a property owner and purchaser giving the buyer a ‘clear field’ to the sale of the premises for a limited period of time. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity agreement is a contract specifying that you will have a contract at a later date being the main conveyancing contract. It is generally utilised for buyer confidence though in many situations, the proprietor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are various positives and negatives to using them but you should to check with your lawyer but note that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these contracts are rare when it comes to conveyancing in york.

At what point can the exchange of contracts take place for domestic conveyancing in york and do I need to be at the solicitors office?

Where you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in york you are welcome to come in to sign documents. That being said, the firms we recommend provide a countrywide conveyancing service and provide just as detailed and professional a job for you when dealing with you digitally. The signing of the contract is not when everything is set in stone. Signing on the dotted line simply enables the firm to exchange contracts at the appropriate time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in york)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

Is it the case that all york solicitor practices on the Nationwide conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. york conveyancing solicitors have been selected. How long does it take for UBS to issue the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have UBS conducted the survey? Have you informed UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in york. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. york is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in york are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in york you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in york 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.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in york what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in york is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Leeds Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

york Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

Where a york lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most yorklease extensions you will be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. You will want to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they can either make life much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their management. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. What is the the remaining lease term?