My wife and I are planning to buy a property in North Baddesley and are in fact using a North Baddesley conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Virgin Money have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our North Baddesley lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see 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 the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own North Baddesley solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
What will a local search reveal regarding the house we're buying in North Baddesley?
North Baddesley conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company such as Searches UK The local search plays a central part in most North Baddesley conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject sections.
I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in North Baddesley. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in North Baddesley of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in North Baddesley differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in North Baddesley approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in North Baddesley typically purchase the site, 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 property lawyers 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 North Baddesley or who has acted in the same development.
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in North Baddesley. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have recently received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as usual because all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I own a split level flat in North Baddesley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in North Baddesley with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2081
With just 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.