Our conveyancer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Bristol. The other side have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancer has advised that he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
Regardless of the fact that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their specifications for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.
Please help - my lawyer advises that defective lease insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Bristol?
The appropriate level of defective lease indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
The mortgage over my property is with RBS for my property in Bristol. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform RBS?
RBS must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that RBS will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact RBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a RBS conveyancing panel firm.
I have instructed a Bristol conveyancer having made sure that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Bristol postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Bristol.
What does a local search tell me concerning the property my wife and I buying in Bristol?
Bristol conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Onsearch The local search plays an important part in most Bristol conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search should provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Bristol I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bristol in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected 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 can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in Bristol. I've stumble upon a web site which looks to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all formalities done via phone that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bristol. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Bristol are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Bristol so you should seriously consider looking for a Bristol conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.
I bought a split level flat in Bristol, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Bristol with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2080
With 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.