Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Fleet costs more?
Fleet leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
There are numerous conveyancing solicitors in Fleet but how do I know who's good?
Do not opt for the lowest Fleet conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
My stepmother advised me that in buying a property in Fleet there may be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Fleet which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Fleet should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I can not fathom if my lender requires a lease extension. I have called my Fleet building society branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Fleet conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Your conveyancer must follow the CML Handbook Part 2 specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Fleet?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Fleet. 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…’
I was pointed in your direction by two or three local estate agents in Fleet to locate a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your site over another?
We don’t offer any commission for directing people in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I am employed by a long established estate agency in Fleet where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Fleet conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Fleet - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
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The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees have control and although a managing agent is usually retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Who is in charge of the block? How is the lease structured?
I have been told by numerous estate agents that it may take six to eight weeks for Fleet conveyancing to complete.This was a month ago. The property information was only forwarded from the vendors lawyer yesterday so does the time start running now?
You need to be pragmatic about timescales. Property transactions in Fleet takes on average about ten weeks. This timeframe is not because lawyer are slow and purposely delay matters. The amount of money involved in purchasing any property is so high, the purchaser's conveyancer having to raise a wide range of questions, searches and other checks to protect the buyer and their lender (if there is to be a mortgage) from expensive, avoidable problems. These checks involves getting information from a range of third parties, for example other solicitor, local councils, private companies, lenders. Some of these are efficient. Plenty aren't. And remember, it doesn't matter how quickly your conveyancing practitioner do their work, if the people you are buying from or are selling to aren't ready, nothing can go ahead until they are up to speed.