I am helping my sister sell her house in Newall Green. Does the conveyancer order an energy assessment or it is for the seller to see to?

After the demise of Home Packs, energy performance certificates was kept a compulsory part of selling a house. An EPC should be commissioned in advance of the property being placed on the market. This is not a task that lawyers normally arrange. If you are instructing a Newall Green conveyancing lawyer they may be willing to arrange energy assessments given their relationships with reputable Newall Green assessors

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Newall Green. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

All 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. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. 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.

Nationwide have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a property in Newall Green has been accepted, what are the next steps?

Your property agent will want to know who your solicitors are (be sure the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Contact Nationwide or the broker and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Nationwide will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or seller to book a time for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Nationwide will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Newall Green.

I am selling our home in Newall Green and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. Any high street Newall Green conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Newall Green. Having lived in Newall Green for three years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must 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 health insurance to cover that same illness)

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Newall Green in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Newall Green. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Newall Green where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Newall Green conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 Newall Green - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It would be sensible to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they will either make your life much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their management. On a final note, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and specifically what it includes. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

The financial adviser has recommended their lawyer for our conveyancing in Newall Green - Is it not simpler advisable to just instruct them?

This is not necessarily the case and you are free to use whichever conveyancing practitioner you decide for your Newall Green conveyancing. A property lawyer suggested by a 3rd party adviser may not always be the right lawyer, they may suggest their preferred conveyancing firm who are based far away. In this instance you may not have contact with your solicitor and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain updates.