I have given 2 months notice to my existing landlord and must be out of my let out property in Somersham by the end of next month. Conveyancing for my house purchase is underway. How realistic is it to complete in three weeks as I wish to avoid having to find short term accommodation?

Generally one should not give notice for your lease until exchange of contracts has taken place. Assuming that you have not already done so, notify to your conveyancer and ask them to they apply pressure on the other solicitors, try to an agreed time frame that all parties will work towards

My fiance and I wish to acquire a newbuild flat in Somersham with a loan from Aldermore.We use our Somersham conveyancing lawyer but Aldermore says his firm is not on their approved list of member firms. It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Aldermore panel lawyer or keep our preferred solicitor and pay for a Aldermore panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that conveyancers needs to be on the Aldermore solicitor panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Aldermore

Will my conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Somersham.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Somersham. There are those who acquire a house in Somersham, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Somersham. The conventional set of information given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the owner to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a claim for damages resulting from an inaccurate response. The purchaser’s solicitors will also carry out an enviro search. This will disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Somersham?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Somersham. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

How does conveyancing in Somersham differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Somersham contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because house builders in Somersham typically purchase the land, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Somersham or who has acted in the same development.