As someone unfamiliar with the Handsworth conveyancing process what is the number one tip you can impart concerning the ownership transfer in Handsworth
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Handsworth and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and others involved in the transaction. For example, the seller, property agent and on occasion the mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Handsworth is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the legal process whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.
We are witnessing a worrying ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be at fault for the process being so protracted. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your lawyer above the other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.
My lawyer in Handsworth is not on the Alliance & Leicester Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Alliance & Leicester approved list?
Your options are as follows:
- Carry on with your existing Handsworth solicitors but Alliance & Leicester will need to retain a conveyancer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total conveyancing charges as well as cause delays.
- Choose an alternative practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Convince your conveyancer to use their best endeavours to join the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are the main reason for stalling in Handsworth conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Handsworth.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Handsworth I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Handsworth for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Handsworth which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Handsworth is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers 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 premises 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 Handsworth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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.
Handsworth Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? Plenty Handsworth leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly accross the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure
How easy is it to change a solicitor as I need to find a Handsworth based conveyancer who is on the bank conveyancing panel. How simple is it to change conveyancer?
If you haven't yet instructed a conveyancer to commence the conveyancing and at this stage simply received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Handsworth that you're thinking of instructing.