I am acquiring a property without a mortgage in Bristol. I have lived for the last dozen years in Bristol. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. As I know the road and vicinity very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?
Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Bristol conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but she has a professional duty to take that path of advice. One thing to consider; if you are going to sell the house at a future date, it will likely be be of relevance to your prospective buyer what the searches determine. On occasion premises with day to day issues can still throw up negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Bristol will provide you some constructive advice in this regard.
Do lawyers request money up-front for my conveyancing in Bristol?
If you are buying a property in Bristol your lawyer will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Ordinarily this is asked for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is as part of the purchase price then this should be asked for immediately in advance of contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is due will be payable shortly before completion.
I am buying a new build house in Bristol benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it would affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Bristol I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bristol suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you require a home loan that many years may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bristol. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Bristol are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Bristol in which case you should be shopping around for a Bristol conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.
I invested in buying a garden flat in Bristol, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bristol with an extended lease are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098
With only 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
To what extent are Bristol conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to publish transparent conveyancing figures?
Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are set rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, represent the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Bristol or or elsewhere in the country.