A loan agreement from NatWest for the remortgage of my 4 room flat is expected within the next few days. Are you able to suggest a low cost conveyancing practitioner in Hertfordshire?

You have arrived at the wrong place to search for a cheap conveyancing solicitors in Hertfordshire. We can offer you affordable conveyancing but we do not advertise as being the cheapest. Avoid the trap of appointing brokers offering the bait of ninety nine pound conveyancing in Hertfordshire. The optimum result, in being led by cheap conveyancing, you will get your money’s worth and at worst you will end up invoiced for extras and still not get the service required.

Finally the sale completed on my house in Hertfordshire last January yet the purchaser is SMS messaging me to moan that her solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?

After completion of your disposal your lawyer is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. If applicable, your solicitor should also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures just for conveyancing in Hertfordshire.

If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Hertfordshire what would it be?

We would encourage you not to go for the lowest Hertfordshire conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.

Does a directory service exist listing Barclays panel conveyancers in Hertfordshire on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings available online. Where you are in need of a Hertfordshire conveyancing practitioner on the Barclays please use our tool.

Nottingham have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in Hertfordshire has been agreed to, what happens next?

Your estate agent will wish to be advised as to your solicitor's details (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the bank’s panel). Telephone Nottingham or your financial adviser and complete any appropriate paperwork. Nottingham will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to book a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. Nottingham will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Hertfordshire.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Hertfordshire 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?

In today’s world there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your lawyer should be aware exactly where to look for all the appropriate paperwork so you can purchase or dispose of your house without any difficulty. If copies can’t be found, your conveyancer can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on your premises.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Hertfordshire where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hertfordshire conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hertfordshire - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Please note if it is fewer than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the property for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. It would be wise to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Hertfordshire. If you love the propertyin Hertfordshire however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you have a very hard compromise. The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.