My wife and I are acquiring a brand new duplex in Fordingbridge and my solicitor is telling me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Fordingbridge. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Leeds Building Society have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Leeds Building Society your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Leeds Building Society. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Leeds Building Society where a lease does not meet these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Fordingbridge.
I'm spending time viewing flats in Fordingbridge and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer appointed at this stage? I will be getting a mortgage with TSB.
It would be prudent to commence your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. As you are taking out a mortgage with TSB, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Leeds Building Society for my property in Fordingbridge. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Leeds Building Society?
You must advise Leeds Building Society in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Leeds Building Society’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Leeds Building Society directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel lawyer.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Fordingbridge 5 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
As long as the title is registered the information relating to your ownership will be held by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
How does conveyancing in Fordingbridge differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Fordingbridge approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Fordingbridge usually 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 conveyancers 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 Fordingbridge or who has acted in the same development.
Last January I purchased a leasehold flat in Fordingbridge. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 bought a 1st floor flat in Fordingbridge, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Fordingbridge with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2101
You have 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
We had our home loan approved last Friday with our bank. We are using a long established conveyancer in Fordingbridge yesterday. This morning, our broker phoned to advise us that the bank said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their 'approved list'. As FTB's, we had no idea that the bank had a say Is this usual?
You are permitted to appoint any conveyencer you wish to choose including the said conveyancer in Fordingbridge however if your lender aren't happy with them you would have to fork out additional cost so the mortgage company can appoint their own lawyers. It may be conceivable that your preferred conveyancing firm to get added to the lender panel. Do make the most of web-based search facilities such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Fordingbridge on the lender panel. You can go into your local mortgage company branch in Fordingbridge. They can recommend conveyancing solicitors in Fordingbridge on the approved list.