My partner and I are buying a new build apartment in Boxmoor and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange and I have no desire to prolong matters. 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 lender 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.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Boxmoor. I have a mortgage agreed with Clydesdale. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Boxmoor. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
Our sealed bid on a house in Boxmoor has been accepted, the sellers do however have an associated purchase. The vendors have placed an offer on a flat, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Boxmoor. What should be my next step? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with TSB?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Boxmoor conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your lawyer is on the TSB approved list. Concerning the next phase this very much depends on the specifics of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of purchasers will apply for a home loan with TSB and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to proceed with the conveyancing in Boxmoor.
Should our conveyancer be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Boxmoor.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Boxmoor. There are those who buy a property in Boxmoor, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Boxmoor. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the vendor to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser may issue a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading response. The buyer’s solicitors will also carry out an enviro search. This will higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be conducted.
My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian property in Boxmoor. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barnsley Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should 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 Boxmoor and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Boxmoor with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it could impact my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Boxmoor I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Boxmoor for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the 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 may ask them to 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 consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.