Me and my fiance are acquiring a leasehold flat in Hopton. My property lawyer is not on the mortgage company conveyancing list. Can I still use my Hopton conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the bank approved list?
Various options include
- Complete the deal with your existing Hopton solicitor but your bank will no doubt instruct a property lawyer from their approved panel. The net result is additional fees and likely frustration.
- Appoint a fresh solicitor to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
- Appeal to your lawyer to seek to join the mortgage company panel
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Hopton is more expensive?
Hopton leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
My conveyancer has informed me that flying freehold insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Hopton conveyancing?
The right level of flying freehold indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Leeds Building Society. Hopton conveyancing lawyers were appointed. How long does it take for Leeds Building Society to forward the offer to the lawyer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Leeds Building Society completed the survey? Have you informed Leeds Building Society as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Hopton lawyer having checked that they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton 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. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Hopton postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Hopton.
I was pointed in your direction by a few estate agents in Hopton to locate a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers rather than a competitor’s?
We don’t give any financial incentive for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Hopton. I happened to discover a web site which seems to have the ideal offering If it is possible to get all the legals done via email that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? 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?
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hopton from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hopton can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hopton state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Hopton conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible. The majority of freeholders or managing agents in Hopton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hopton.
I acquired a ground floor flat in Hopton, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Hopton with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082
With only 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.