My partner and I are buying a new build apartment in Aigburth and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I don't want to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
As I am unsure how the conveyancing process works what is the most important piece of guidance you can give me about purchase conveyancing in Aigburth?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Aigburth or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the transaction. For instance, the seller, estate agent and on occasion your lender. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Aigburth an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the transaction whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a potential adversary will attempt to convince you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For example, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your conveyancer is slow. Or your financial adviser may tell you to do something that is contrary to your conveyancers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
I have todaybecome aware that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Aigburth for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Aigburth conveyancing specialists.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Aigburth I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Aigburth suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities 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 speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Aigburth where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Aigburth conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Aigburth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying
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How many years remain on the lease? Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could increase the service fees? This information is useful as a) areas could result in problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure
I am short of a 10% deposit on my apartment purchase in Aigburth , but I am keen exchange. Do I have options?
One option is to try and accept a smaller deposit. Many property owners will accept a smaller deposit or even no deposit for a first time buyer or 100% mortgage. Be aware though that if you fail to complete you will still need to hand over a minimum of 10% of the purchase price regardless of how much deposit was agreed.
You can also agree a simultaneous exchange and completion as no deposit is required for this however neither party will be tied in until completion actually takes place and it can be risky if sellers change their mind at the last moment