My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Hockley. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?

Now that you have exchanged you must choose a conveyancing lawyer soon as you will have a tight a fixed date to complete the transaction. All auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke auction pack. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal pack may provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You should give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

We are purchasing a end of terrace house in Hockley. Our aim is to convert the garage to a playroom at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve investigations to see if these works were previously refused?

Your property lawyer should check the deeds as conveyancing in Hockley will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain changes or necessitated the permission of another owner. Some extensions call for local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Hockley. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

4 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Hockley completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

How does conveyancing in Hockley differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Hockley contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Hockley tend to buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Hockley or who has acted in the same development.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Hockley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hockley should include some of the following:

What you can do if another tenant in the building is in violation of a provision in their lease? What remedies are open the freeholder should you breach a clause of your lease? The landlord’s rights to access the flat. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. Rent payments - what is payable and when you need to pay, and be on notice if this is subject to change Who has the liability to repair and maintain the main walls and foundations. It is important for you to know who is duty bound to repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Hockley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Can you inform me if there are any major works anticipated that will likely add a premium to the maintenance fees? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared between the leasehold owners and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or necessitate a one off payment.

My wife and I are acquiring a studio flat in Hockley. At the time of instructing our conveyancer, they told us that they were on all major UK bank panels. The financial adviser called today to say that they don't seem to be on the Bank of Ireland approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Should we just find a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their panel or should we cover the costs for separate representation, with Bank of Ireland selecting their own approved solicitor.

If you are acquiring a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the buyer’s solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a property lawyer has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the conveyancer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the conveyancer has to meet. Some building societies now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should call Bank of Ireland to discover if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on Bank of Ireland's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Hockley lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.