Some advice if I may. My Caddington conveyancer is assuring me that she is duty bound toconduct Caddington conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Nat Westconveyancing panel. These Caddington searches cost a lot of money can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with a bank your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Caddington conveyancing searches.
My flat in Caddington is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will my lawyer have to be required to be on the RBS conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the RBS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Caddington what would it be?
It would be unwise to be tempted by the cheapest Caddington conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home moving as FTB of a garden flat in Caddington. Do I pick up the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Caddington?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be called to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Virgin Money, do Caddington solicitors face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Caddington. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Chelsea Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Caddington and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
How does conveyancing in Caddington differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Caddington come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because developers in Caddington usually 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 conveyancers 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 Caddington or who has acted in the same development.
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Caddington where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Caddington conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I inherited a leasehold flat in Caddington, conveyancing formalities finalised August 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Caddington with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2088
With 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.