We are selling our house in Dorset. Will my lawyer need to be on the RBS conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the RBS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently in recent years.
A friend informed me that in buying a property in Dorset there could be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Dorset which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Dorset should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Dorset. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Not long after, the property lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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.
Our offer on a house in Dorset has been accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have placed an offer on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Dorset. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Barclays?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Dorset conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you should check that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. As to the next steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market the majority of home buyers will apply for a home loan with Barclays and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their solicitor to move forward with the conveyancing in Dorset.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Dorset?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Dorset. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Dorset differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Dorset come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because builders in Dorset typically acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Dorset or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Dorset is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Dorset are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Dorset 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 Dorset may decide 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.
How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business premises in Dorset and how can your lawyers assist?
The 1954 Act affords protection to commercial lessees, giving them the a statutory right to make a request to court for a renewal lease and remain in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Dorset is one of our numerous locations in which the firms we work with have offices