My Conveyancer in Sonning Common is not listed on the Santander Solicitor Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Santander list of approved lawyers?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Sonning Common solicitors but Santander will need to use a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total conveyancing fees and cause delays.
- Find an alternative solicitor to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Convince your lawyer to use their best endeavours to join the Santander conveyancing panel
Should our conveyancer be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Sonning Common.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Sonning Common. There are those who buy a house in Sonning Common, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or by their solicitors which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Sonning Common. The conventional set of property information forms given to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the owner to determine if the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s solicitors will also carry out an enviro search. This should reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be carried out.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Sonning Common in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Sonning Common. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
My husband and I are first time buyers - agreed a price, but the selling agent informed us that the seller will only move forward if we instruct the agent's recommended lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Sonning Common
We suspect that the seller is not behind this ultimatum. If they desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a serious purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and make the point that (a)you are genuine purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with finances in place © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred Sonning Common conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothose that will give the estate agent a kickback or hit his conveyancing targets demanded by head office.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Sonning Common conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sonning Common conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Sonning Common conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be of use:
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What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Sonning Common in the last twenty four months? How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
Sonning Common Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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What is the name of the managing agents? Most Sonning Common leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments throughout the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant figure, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.