The mortgage agreement from Nationwide for the refinancing of my 4 room garden flat is coming any day now. Could you recommend a cheap conveyancing law firm in Hanham?
This site is not designed to aid those in their quest for cut-price fees for conveyancing in Hanham. Our goal is to offer excellent value conveyancing but we do not advertise as being the cheapest. Avoid the trap of appointing brokers offering £100 conveyancing in Hanham. Optimistically, in deciding on cheap conveyancing, you will earn what you pay for and at worst it will result in you with a hefty uplift in extras and still not end up with the service you were looking for.
My wife and I are refinancing our penthouse in Hanham with Bank of Ireland. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Bank of Ireland had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
What does a local search tell me regarding the property I am buying in Hanham?
Hanham 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 part in many a Hanham conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant 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 thirteen subject areas.
How does conveyancing in Hanham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Hanham come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because developers in Hanham tend to buy 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 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 Hanham or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one near me in Hanham I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Hanham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
I am looking at a couple of flats in Hanham which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Hanham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 property 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 Hanham 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. 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 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.
Hanham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Hanham ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Hanhamlease extensions you would need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. How much is the ground rent and service charge?