What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in New Romney?
Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in New Romney or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of room for conflict between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For example, the vendor, property agent and sometimes the bank. Appointing a solicitor for your conveyancing in New Romney an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose responsibility is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.
We are witnessing a distinct ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be at fault for the process taking so long. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your solicitor above the other players in the home moving process.
We're in New Romney, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Santander , and our solicitor is on the Santander conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Should my solicitor be raising questions about flooding during the conveyancing in New Romney.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in New Romney. There are those who buy a property in New Romney, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in New Romney. The conventional set of information sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the property has ever been flooded. If the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses resulting from an incorrect answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also carry out an environmental report. This will indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be initiated.
How does conveyancing in New Romney differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in New Romney contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because builders in New Romney 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in New Romney or who has acted in the same development.
Am I best advised to appoint a New Romney conveyancing lawyer based in the location that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can execute the conveyancing but they are based over three hundred miles away.
The benefit of a local New Romney conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were content that should trump using an unfamiliar New Romney conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.
What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a New Romney conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a New Romney conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non New Romney conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be useful:
-
What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?
I acquired a 1st floor flat in New Romney, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in New Romney with a long lease are worth £207,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079
With 57 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £28,500 and £33,000 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.