I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (seven years built) in Bicester. 95% of the properties have already been sold. Is it really necessary to order local searches for my conveyancing in Bicester?
Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your mortgage company will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Bicester conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should have the searches done, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you demand that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Bicester.
My lawyer in Bicester is not on the Nationwide Building Society Approved Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Nationwide Building Society panel?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Bicester lawyers but Nationwide Building Society will need to retain a lawyer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing fees as well as result in frustration.
- Choose a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Nationwide Building Society panel
How does conveyancing in Bicester differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Bicester contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because builders in Bicester usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Bicester or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Bicester I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bicester for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
My wife and I may need to sub-let our Bicester ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Bicester conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Bicester do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.
I purchased a split level flat in Bicester, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Bicester with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084
With just 60 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,000 and £23,000 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.