I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Orpington. I have a mortgage offer with Skipton. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel.
Planning on purchasing a apartment in Orpington. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Orpington lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Orpington solicitor having made sure that they are on the Principality conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Orpington surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Orpington and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Orpington conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a national conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Orpington. Having lived in Orpington for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You must check with 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 sickness)
Taking into account that I am about to part with over three hundred thousand on a house in Orpington I would like to talk to a solicitor concerning thehome move prior to appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
This is something that we encourage - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer due to be conducting your conveyancing in Orpington.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important person, not a matter number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Orpington should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.
As co-executor for the will of my uncle I am disposing of a property in Newport but I am based in Orpington. My lawyer (based 200 miles from mehas requested that I execute a statutory declaration before completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Orpington who can attest this legal document for me?
Technically speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Orpington based
I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Orpington. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have recently had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as you normally would given that all rents and maintenance payments will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Orpington. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Orpington residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 50.57 years.
If instructed can a conveyancer remove a person from the title of my property in Orpington ?
Removing or adding someone to the title of your property is relatively straightforward. You’ll need to appoint a lawyer to discuss your legal rights before you can proceed with a transfer of property. Contact us to book a free consultation with one a conveyancer