At what point does exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Chantry and am I required to attend the lawyers branch?

Where you are near to our conveyancing solicitors in Chantry you are invited in to sign contracts. That being said, the law practices we work with supply countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give as equally detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The executing of the purchase agreement is not the point of no return. A signed contract is necessary for the solicitor to address the formalities when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Chantry)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Chantry off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Nottingham. 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 Nottingham, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.

I can not work out if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Chantry bank branch on numerous occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Chantry conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

Your solicitor must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two requirements for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Chantry solicitor - who is on the RBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Chantry surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Is it necessary to take out insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in Chantry?

Unless a prior acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in Chantry to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Chantry I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Chantry in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

Should you need a home loan that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

We are in the midst of selling our flat in Chantry. Conveyancing solicitors are doing their job but we are being charged a fortune from the managing agents. So far we have forked out £225 for a leasehold management pack and then another £134.40 for additional questions raised by the purchaser's solicitor.

Your lawyer will not have any control over the level of the fee for this information however the typical fee for the information for Chantry leasehold premises is £360. For Chantry conveyancing deals it is standard for the owner to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are not duty bound to address such questions most will agree to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Regretfully there is no statute that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Nor is there any statutory time frame by which they are obliged to issue answers.