My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Carbis Bay and are in fact using a Carbis Bay conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Ireland have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Carbis Bay conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Carbis Bay solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Should conveyancers ask for money up-front for my conveyancing in Carbis Bay?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Carbis Bay your lawyer will ask you put them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. When the down payment is payable against the total price then this will be asked for shortly in advance of contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is due will be payable a couple of days prior to the completion date.
This question may be naive but I am new to the home moving as a first time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Carbis Bay. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Carbis Bay?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Carbis Bay. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the seller's lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be able to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
We expect to receive a AIP from Leeds Building Society this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Leeds Building Society recommend any Carbis Bay solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Carbis Bay solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Leeds Building Society through the process.
Coventry BS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a flat in Carbis Bay has been agreed to, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s approved list). Contact Coventry BS or the financial adviser and finish off any relevant paperwork. Coventry BS will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. Coventry BS will send the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Carbis Bay.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one near me in Carbis Bay I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Carbis Bay for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the agent advised that the seller will only move forward if we instruct the agent's chosen solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Carbis Bay
We suspect that the seller is unaware of this requirement. If they desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine buyer is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the owners direct and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to use your preferred Carbis Bay conveyancing solicitors - rather thanthose that will give their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by corporate headquarters.
Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Carbis Bay conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Carbis Bay conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Carbis Bay conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be useful:
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If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Carbis Bay, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Carbis Bay with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083
With 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.