As a novice what is the most important piece of guidance you can give me concerning purchase conveyancing in Piccadilly?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Piccadilly or throughout London is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the transaction. For instance, the vendor, estate agent and on occasion a bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Piccadilly should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the legal process whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a potential adversary will attempt to convince you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For instance, the selling agent may claim to be helping by suggesting your solicitor is dragging his heels. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do something that is against your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Aldermore, do Piccadilly conveyancers incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I currently have a mortgage with UBS for my property in Piccadilly. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months 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 UBS?
You must advise UBS before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of UBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 UBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a UBS conveyancing panel solicitor.
My offer on a detached house in Piccadilly has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have put an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Piccadilly. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Skipton going?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Piccadilly conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your lawyer is on the Skipton approved list. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some purchasers would apply for a home loan with Skipton and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to proceed with searches.
How does conveyancing in Piccadilly differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Piccadilly contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Piccadilly usually acquire 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 Piccadilly or who has acted in the same development.
I have been advised by a few property agents in Piccadilly to locate a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to market your site over a competitor’s?
We refuse to make any financial incentive for directing people in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because 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.
My step-father has urged me to use his lawyers for conveyancing in Piccadilly. Should I use them?
No doubt the ideal way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to seek feedback from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the conveyancer that you are considering.
What can I do to find out who owns a house in Piccadilly?
Assuming that the premises is registered with the Land Registry, and you have sufficient details of the location of the premises, you should be able to see details from the the Land Registry of the registered proprietor for a fee.