Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to pop into the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Greenhithe so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
These days approved lawyers for banks carry out the vast majority of work through the post, internet or over phone calls. This means that they can undertake the conveyancing transaction no matter where you live in the country. Nevertheless you should see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
I am assisting my sister sell her house in Greenhithe. Does the conveyancing solicitor commission the EPC or do I organise this?
Following the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates was retained a mandatory part of selling a property. An energy assessment must be commissioned before the property is put on the market. This is not a task that law firms ordinarily organise. Where you are instructing a Greenhithe conveyancing lawyer they may be willing to arrange energy performance certificates given their relationships with long established Greenhithe energy assessors
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bank of Ireland, do Greenhithe lawyers incur an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Greenhithe solicitor - who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Greenhithe surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
What does a local search tell me regarding the house I am purchasing in Greenhithe?
Greenhithe conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example Searchflow The local search plays an important part in many a Greenhithe conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid 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 property (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 thirteen topic headings.
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Greenhithe. I happened to stumble across a web site which seems to have the perfect solution If there is a chance to get all formalities completed via phone that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
Last June I purchased a leasehold house in Greenhithe. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?
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. 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).
Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Greenhithe. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Greenhithe conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Greenhithe residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Greenhithe.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated however I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the maintenance contribution as usual given that all ground rent and service payments will be apportionedas part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process