I am selling my apartment in Aldershot and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the buyers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Aldershot ?
Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
We are purchasing a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Aldershot who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Barclays . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Aldershot.
It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Aldershot completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Aldershot differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Aldershot come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Aldershot tend to acquire the site, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Aldershot or who has acted in the same development.
My husband and I are first time buyers - had an offer accepted, but the property agent told us that the seller will only issue a contract if we instruct the agent's recommended solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Aldershot
We suspect that the seller is unaware of this ultimatum. Should the vendor require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are genuine purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you will continue to appoint your preferred Aldershot conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothose that will provide the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or hit his conveyancing targets pre-set by head office.
I work for a reputable estate agency in Aldershot where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Aldershot conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
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 buyer.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Aldershot - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? It would be wise to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Aldershot. If you like the propertyin Aldershot however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very difficult compromise. Many Aldershot leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments throughout the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.