My wife and I are soon to exchange on the purchase of a house in Chepstow but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate reparation from the owner in the sum of £2k by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of a side agreement yet Leeds Building Society will not permit this. Why were they notified?
Any lawyer that is on a Leeds Building Society approved list is duty bound to inform Leeds Building Society of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your property lawyer to disclose the price change to Leeds Building Society then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Leeds Building Society and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Chepstow.
The Chepstow conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Chepstow have without warning closed. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my family Chepstow lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a first time buyer of a ground floor flat in Chepstow. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Chepstow?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be able to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
It is not clear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Chepstow bank branch on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Chepstow conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they will not lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?
The solicitor has to comply with the CML Handbook section two conditions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, RBS are being pedantic. The Chepstow solicitor who is on the RBS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but RBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do RBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
It has been 4 months following my purchase conveyancing in Chepstow took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 property 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.
I am purchasing my first flat in Chepstow with a mortgage from National Westminster Bank. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it will affect my mortgage with the bank. 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 am intending to sublet my leasehold flat in Chepstow. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?
Some leases for properties in Chepstow do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Chepstow - A selection of Queries before buying
-
What is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? The majority of Chepstow leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.