Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Cheshunt costs more?
Cheshunt leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from Yorkshire BS as we wish to conduct improvements to our home in Cheshunt. Do we need to choose a nearby Cheshunt solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Yorkshire BS do not ordinarily appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS list.
My wife and I are in the throws of viewing flats in Cheshunt and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have a property lawyer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with Yorkshire BS.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the EA. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Cheshunt conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton 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 conveyancing practitioner 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 Cheshunt postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Cheshunt.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of stalling in Cheshunt house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Cheshunt.
It has been 4 months following my purchase conveyancing in Cheshunt completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 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 premises 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.
Am I best advised to go with a Cheshunt conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can handle the conveyancing however his firm is located 200miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Cheshunt conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Cheshunt know how is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were impressed that should surpass using an unfamiliar Cheshunt conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Cheshunt. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I bought a leasehold flat in Cheshunt, conveyancing having been completed 7 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? Corresponding flats in Cheshunt with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2078
You have 55 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.