I am purchasing a garden flat in Dorchester. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Dorchester you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Dorchester.
My aunt informed me that in purchasing a property in Dorchester there could be various restrictions preventing external alterations to the property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Dorchester which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Dorchester should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Dorchester. I have a mortgage offer with Coventry BS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.
Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Dorchester solicitor - who is on the Santander conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Dorchester surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Dorchester 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?
You no longer need to have the physical original deeds to prove you own the land or premises, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandfather I am selling a property in Swansea but live in Dorchester. My lawyer (who is 300 kilometers awayneeds me to execute a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Dorchester to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are located in Dorchester
I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Dorchester where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Dorchester conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Dorchester Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying
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It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a one time payment. Are there any major works in the planning that will increase the service fees? Most Dorchester leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the landlord. Should you acquire the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally quarterly accross the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.
At what point do I incur the Stamp Duty Land Tax chargeable for my purchase in Dorchester?
Your property lawyer will fill out a Land Transaction Return Form for you during your Dorchester purchase transaction for signature. After completion your conveyancer will submit the STL Return Form to the Tax Authorities and - as long as they have the money - settle any land tax payable for you.