My colleague suggested that where I am buying in Chichester I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Chichester conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Chichester around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Chichester Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Chichester.
My wife and I own a terraced Edwardian property in Chichester. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Chichester and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
I'm buying my first flat in Chichester benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my solicitor about this extras as it could affect my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
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.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial offices in Chichester and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to provides a safeguard to commercial leaseholders, granting the dueness to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are limited grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Chichester is one of the many areas of the UK in which our lawyers are based
I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Chichester. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal as all ground rent and maintenance charges should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Chichester, conveyancing was carried out in 2011. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Chichester with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083
With just 57 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £28,500 and £33,000 plus costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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 take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.
What can I do where I am unhappy with the conveyancer who undertook our conveyancing in Chichester?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and is is a fact of life that sometimes matters do not go as planned. That being said there is recourse if you were not happy with your conveyancing in Chichester. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a lawyer to their governing body. If you remain dissatisfied you may consider enlisting the help of the Legal Ombudsman.