We are acquiring a newly constructed duplex in Billericay and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. 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.
My fiance and I are hoping to buy a newbuild flat in Billericay with a homeloan from Barclays Direct.We would like to retain our Billericay conveyancing practitioner but Barclays Direct says his firm is not on their approved list of firms. It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Barclays Direct panel solicitor or keep our local solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers needs to be on the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barclays Direct
What is your number one tip for finding a conveyancing solicitor in Billericay
It would be unwise to be swayed by the lowest Billericay conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. 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 go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
My wife and I are spending time viewing houses in Billericay and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it advisable to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Virgin Money.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Virgin Money, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Nottingham. Is it usual for Nottingham to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Billericay is approved on their conveyancing panel? Nottingham have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nottingham to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
We are buying a property and the lawyer has mentioned Chancel Repair for which the property may be obligated to pay given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. She has recommended insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Billericay
Unless a previous purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Billericay to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Me and my brother have a terraced Georgian house in Billericay. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Halifax. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Halifax to clarify?
You need to review 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Billericay and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Billericay where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Billericay conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller 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 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 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 sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.
I inherited a basement flat in Billericay, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Billericay with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2093
With only 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.