My wife and I are acquiring a new build duplex in Bridport and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and my preference is not to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Bridport costs more?
The conveyancing charges for a leasehold property in Bridport is inevitably higher than on a freehold transaction. This is due to the supplemental work required in dealing with the landlord and management company to obtain evidence about whether the rent and service charges have been cleared and whether there are any major works due in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the block.
We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to appoint their panel conveyancer as I would much rather instruct a high street conveyancing solicitor in Bridport?
Do check but the chances are that appoint one of their panel lawyers if you accept the "fee-free" deal. Call the bank and check if they make available a monetary alternative. In the past a few lenders offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor in Bridport.
It has been three months following my purchase conveyancing in Bridport completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 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 residence 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.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Bridport I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Bridport suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
We own a leasehold flat in Bridport. Conveyancing was completed in 2009. I have been told that I mustn’t let the lease length get too low. What is the reasoning?
Bridport leasehold properties are for a prescribed term - normally just under one hundred years when they commenced. However a significant flats in Bridport were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so these leases now have fewer than 80 years unexpired. This may sound like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions generally need leases to have at least seventy five years left to adequate security. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to eighty years. To increase the marketability of your property you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease is below eighty years the premium to be paid to extend starts to escalate.