At what point will exchange of contracts take place for domestic conveyancing in Cornwall and am I required to be at the lawyers office?

If you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Cornwall you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. However, the firms we recommend supply a national conveyancing service and give as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The signing of the contract is not the point of no return. Signing on the dotted line is necessary for the firm to exchange contracts at the suitable time, 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 involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Cornwall)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

We are selling our flat in Cornwall. Will the conveyancer have to be required to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Cornwall

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Cornwall and Solicitor firms in Cornwall who provide Conveyancing services We would stress that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. The two can deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

When it comes to lenders such as Yorkshire BS, do Cornwall conveyancers incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I have paid off my mortgage with Clydesdale. I assume I don't need a Cornwall property lawyer on the Clydesdale panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Clydesdale mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Clydesdale mortgage from the register. Clydesdale, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Clydesdale has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Clydesdale has instructed the Land Registry to do so

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Cornwall I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cornwall in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £200,000 garden flat in Cornwall on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Cornwall?

Cornwall conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled to charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Cornwall Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Cornwall obliged tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.