What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Copmanthorpe?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Copmanthorpe and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the transaction. For example, the vendor, estate agent and on occasion a lender. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Copmanthorpe is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the transaction whose interest is to act in your best interests and to protect you.
There is a distinct increase of a "blame" culture- someone must be at fault for the process being so protracted. You should always trust your solicitor above the other parties in the conveyancing process.
We're in Copmanthorpe, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Skipton , and our solicitor is on the Skipton conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Skipton 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.
We had selected conveyancing lawyers with offices in Copmanthorpe on the Bank of Ireland solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional fee for dealing with the Bank of Ireland mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Bank of Ireland?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer may charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Bank of Ireland but by your Copmanthorpe solicitor. Some firms on the Bank of Ireland panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Copmanthorpe. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A few days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Virgin Money have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a property in Copmanthorpe has been agreed to, now what?
The estate agent will want to be informed of your conveyancer's details (ensure that the property lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Virgin Money or the financial adviser and finalise any relevant documentation. Virgin Money will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. Virgin Money will send the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Copmanthorpe.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Copmanthorpe is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Copmanthorpe are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Copmanthorpe you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Copmanthorpe may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Copmanthorpe where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Copmanthorpe conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Copmanthorpe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying
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Make sure you find out if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Copmanthorpe leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Copmanthorpe. If you love the flatin Copmanthorpe yet your dog can’t move with you then you have a very hard choice. Who manages the building? Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders?
What tools are available to search for a Copmanthorpe conveyancing solicitor on the bank conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location, in this case Copmanthorpe and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest Copmanthorpe. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the bank solicitor panel.