I was advised recently by my financial adviser that my North Hykeham lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your North Hykeham conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your lender.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in North Hykeham. I have a mortgage agreed with Santander. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Santander, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel.
I have a mortgage with Aldermore for my property in North Hykeham. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Aldermore?
You must advise Aldermore before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Aldermore’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Aldermore directly. You need not do this via a Aldermore conveyancing panel firm.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in North Hykeham. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Soon after, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Santander conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Santander panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
It has been 3 months following my purchase conveyancing in North Hykeham concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
About to purchase a new build flat in North Hykeham. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in North Hykeham
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There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in North Hykeham in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks tend not issue a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can look into this further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in North Hykeham. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in North Hykeham especially if they are acquainted with such properties in North Hykeham.
Last April I purchased a leasehold house in North Hykeham. Do I have any liability for 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).
North Hykeham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying
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Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? This information is useful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to know about it