We're in Burbage, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Leeds Building Society , and our solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I have paid off my mortgage with Clydesdale. I assume I don't need a Burbage solicitor on the Clydesdale panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Clydesdale mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Clydesdale mortgage from the register. Clydesdale, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Clydesdale has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Clydesdale has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Planning on purchasing a apartment in Burbage. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Burbage lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Burbage solicitor - who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Barclays will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Barclays 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Burbage surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
My relative recommended that where I am buying in Burbage I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Burbage conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Burbage around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Burbage Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Burbage.
I'm buying a new build house in Burbage with a loan from Santander. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative told me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it will jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
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.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Burbage I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Burbage in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Can you set out some of specific benefits to instructing a high street property lawyer in Burbage
A significant proportion of house movers in Burbage choose a nearby high street conveyancer so that they can pop into the lawyer’s offices in the event that they have concerns, and to deliver documents rather than relying on the post.
One could allege that there exists a slight benefit in using a conveyancing practitioner nearby to the property you are purchasing, due to the knowledge of the area and potential local concerns - yet this is moot. Many conveyancers undertaking their work online and may be almost anywhere.