I am buying a maisonette in Farnham Royal. My Conveyancer has never been on on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Am I still permitted to use my Farnham Royal conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the lender list of approved lawyers?
You have numerous choices open to you here
- Carry on with your chosen Farnham Royal conveyancing practitioner but your lender will undoubtedly instruct a conveyancing practitioner on their approved panel. The net result is additional charges together with probable interruption.
- Get a fresh solicitor to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Convince your conveyancer to pull out all the stops to join the mortgage company conveyancing panel
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Farnham Royal. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in June. I want to move. I understand that there is a CML 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership could be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in June. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?
The CML handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. How sensible a view lenders take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this obligation chiefly exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
I'm in the throws of looking at apartments in Farnham Royal and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it sensible to have my solicitor on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with Nottingham.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Nottingham, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have paid off my mortgage with Nationwide. I assume I don't need a Farnham Royal lawyer on the Nationwide panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Nationwide mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Nationwide mortgage from the register. Nationwide, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Nationwide has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Nationwide has instructed the Land Registry to do so
What will a local search tell me regarding the property I am purchasing in Farnham Royal?
Farnham Royal conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for example Searchflow The local search plays an important role in many a Farnham Royal conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject headings.
How does conveyancing in Farnham Royal differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Farnham Royal come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Farnham Royal tend to buy the real estate, 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 Farnham Royal or who has acted in the same development.
Am I better off to use a Farnham Royal conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am hoping to buy? An old friend can perform the legal work but they are based 300miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Farnham Royal conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to sign documents, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Farnham Royal know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and they were content that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Farnham Royal conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.
I am looking at a couple of apartments in Farnham Royal which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Farnham Royal is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Farnham Royal conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Farnham Royal Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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This information is useful as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have all the details Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?