My husband and I are planning to buy a house in Bourne and have instructed a Bourne conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays Direct have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Bourne solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Bourne lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I am need of leasehold conveyancing for a flat in a relatively new development (6 years built) in Bourne. 95% of the appartments are already occupied. Do I need carry out the neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Bourne?
You are opening yourself up to an unnecessary risk in not carrying out Bourne conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying without a mortgage there is no legal necessity to have them, but we would absolutely advise in the strongest possible terms that your solicitor conducts them. If time pressures and expenses are top of your issues you should consider with your lawyer about the option of search insurance
I require expedited conveyancing in Bourne as I am under pressure to sign on the dotted line in less than 3 weeks. Thankfully I do not require a mortgage. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
If.Given you are are a cash purchaser you are at free not to have searches conducted although no law firm would recommend that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Bourne the following are instances of issues that can appear and therefore affect future saleability: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...
How does conveyancing in Bourne differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Bourne come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because house builders in Bourne tend to purchase the land, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Bourne 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 near me in Bourne I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bourne suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
Last December I purchased a leasehold house in Bourne. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Bourne Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? It would be wise to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will either make life much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money.