My partner and I are purchasing a brand new apartment in Salcombe and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and I have no desire to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the house moving as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Salcombe. Do I pick up the keys to the property on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Salcombe?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Salcombe. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the owner’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
I am buying a end of terrace house in Salcombe. We would like to an extension at the rear at the house.Will legal work on the property involve enquiries to ascertain if these works are allowed?
Your conveyancer should check the deeds as conveyancing in Salcombe will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain changes or need the permission of another owner. Some extensions require 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. It would be sensible to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I am the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Salcombe. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. many banks would take a practical view as this requirement is chiefly there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
We are downsizing from our home in Salcombe and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Salcombe. Having lived in Salcombe for many years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to 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)
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Salcombe I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Salcombe suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
If you need a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I was advised by a few property agents in Salcombe to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your services over alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t make any referral fee for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.