Some advice if I may. My Benson conveyancer is advising me that he is legally obliged toapply for Benson conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Virgin Moneysolicitor panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a home loan with a lender your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Benson conveyancing searches.
It has been three months since my purchase conveyancing in Benson concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. 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 Benson differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Benson approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in Benson typically acquire the real estate, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Benson or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one close by in Benson I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Benson for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
How do I locate a Benson law firm on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this page. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Benson conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Benson conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to verify if they are on the Alliance & Leicester member panel
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Benson with the aim of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Benson can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. Some Benson leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. The majority of landlords or managing agents in Benson levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Benson.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Benson - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. What is the length of the lease? Is the freehold owned collectively by the leaseholders?