Can the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend conduct conveyancing in St Neots by way of an attended exchange?
We do have a number of conveyancing specialists who can conduct 24hr exchanges. Do call us to get a conveyancing quote and details as to availability.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a two bedroom flat in St Neots. Do I receive the keys to the property on the completion date from my solicitor? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in St Neots?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be invited to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.
We previously selected solicitors based in St Neots on the Co-operative solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional fee for handling the Co-operative mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Co-operative?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner can levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by Co-operative but by your St Neots solicitor. Numerous firms on the Co-operative panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my St Neots bank branch on various occasions and was informed it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My St Neots conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the conveyancer is on the bank panel, they must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in St Neots I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in St Neots suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a home loan 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 may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I have been advised by a few estate agents in St Neots to locate a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your services rather than another?
We don’t give any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I have just placed an offer on an apartment in St Neots and the mortgage adviser that we are using suggested his lawyer. He quoted nine hundred pounds excluding VAT and disbursements. Does this sound reasonable?
You should not rely on one quote. You should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in St Neots. Then select one that you trust and just as important, is on the approved list of the lender that you have applied for a mortgage from.