We decided to go with a high street firm for my conveyancing in Crawcrook recently. Looking through the fine print I seewe are responsible for charges even if our purchase aborts. Should I ditch them and use an internet conveyancing brokerage promising no move no charge conveyancing in Crawcrook?
Generally there is a concession along the lines that if "No Completion No Fee" is advertised then the fee levels will generally be uplifted to neutralise the cases that abort. Dont forget that these arrangements tend not to protect you from outlay for example Crawcrook conveyancing search charges.
Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Crawcrook costs more?
In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Crawcrook and elsewhere usually necessitates more hours of investigation compared to freehold transactions. This includes lease investigation, liaising with the landlord concerning serving appropriate notices, procuring up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining the landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different owners have owned the lease since it was first entered into.
We had chosen conveyancers based in Crawcrook on the Clydesdale solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further fee for dealing with the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Clydesdale?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancer can levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Clydesdale but by your Crawcrook solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Clydesdale panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Crawcrook. I have a mortgage agreed with Santander. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have 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 Santander, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Skipton for my property in Crawcrook. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Skipton?
You must advise Skipton before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Skipton’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Skipton will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Skipton directly. You need not do this via a Skipton conveyancing panel firm.
A colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Crawcrook I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Crawcrook conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Crawcrook around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Crawcrook Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Crawcrook.
I was pointed in your direction by a number of property agents in Crawcrook to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to offer your site over and above another?
We refuse to make any financial incentive for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.