We are acquiring our first property. Our lawyer has e-mailedto see if we would like to purchase additional conveyancing searches. Unfortunately we in the dark as to what's necessary for conveyancing in Durham
The scope of Durham conveyancing searches depends primarily on the property, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your familiarity of the area and risks, your general attitude to risk. What is important is that you adequately understand what information the searches could supply. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that search. If in doubt, ask the conveyancer to provide guidance.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Durham is more expensive?
In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Durham and County Durham usually involve more due diligence compared to freehold conveyancing. This includes reviewing the lease, liaising with the landlord concerning the service of appropriate notices, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining the landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different leaseholders have owned the lease since it was first entered into.
A colleague advised me that if I am buying in Durham I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Durham conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Durham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local 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 regarding Durham.
How does conveyancing in Durham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Durham come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because builders in Durham tend to purchase 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Durham or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Durham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 inherited a garden flat in Durham, conveyancing was carried out September 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Durham with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2087
With 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. 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 considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.
One month into a sale of a flat in Durham. Conveyancing is fine but we have been asked to pay an extortionate amount from the freeholder. So far we have paid £295.50 for a leasehold management pack and then another £134.40 for additional questions raised by the purchaser's lawyer.
Your conveyancer will unlikely have any control over the level of the bill for this information however the typical fee for the information for Durham leasehold property is £350. When it comes to Durham conveyancing transactions it is conventional for the owner to pay for these charges. The landlord or their agents are under no statutory obligation to answer such questions although many will be content to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices out of proportion to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no statute that requires fixed fees for administrative tasks. Neither is there any prescriptive time limit by which they are obliged to provide the information.