Having been referred to your service we were about to use a conveyancing solicitor in Highgate listed on your site but have come across alternative costs illustrations on the internet look less expensive – how come?
There are many firms of solicitors advertising so-called £99 conveyancing, but additionalfees end up with the closing fee being inflated. Solicitors ought to ensure charges outlined in terms of business should be honest and reasonable and be applied The conveyancers that we put forward for conveyancing in Highgate specify all legal fees for the property you intend topurchase.
The sellers of the house we are hoping to buy are using a conveyancing solicitor in Highgate who has suggested a lock out agreement with a down payment 10k. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
Exclusivity agreements are agreements between a property owner and purchaser giving the buyer a ‘clear field’ to purchase the property within a prescribed time frame. For all intents and purposes, a lock out is a document stating that you will receive a contract at a later time which is the main conveyancing contract. It tends to be utilised for buyer confidence though in many situations, the proprietor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are numerous positives and negatives to having an agreement but you should to check with your solicitor but beware that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these agreements are avoided in relation to conveyancing in Highgate.
My partner and I are selling our home in Highgate and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A high street Highgate conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a national conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Highgate. We have lived in Highgate for 5 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
Is it best to use a Highgate conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can conduct the conveyancing but his firm is located over three hundred miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Highgate conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and they were happy that should trump using an unfamiliar Highgate conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.
I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Highgate where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Highgate conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Highgate. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Highgate residence is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 67.85 years.