The Poundbury conveyancing firm handling our Poundbury conveyancing has discovered a difference between the surveyor’s assumptions in the home valuation report and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My lawyer has advised that he needs to ensure that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s course or action legitimate?
Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I'm buying my first flat in Poundbury with a loan from Yorkshire Building Society. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it would jeopardize my mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one near me in Poundbury I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Poundbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
I have been advised by a number of property agents in Poundbury to find a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your site over a competitor’s?
We don’t give any financial incentive for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Last May I purchased a leasehold flat in Poundbury. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
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. A critical element 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).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Poundbury - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing
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What is the service charge and ground rent on the flat? Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared between the tenants and will dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or result in a specific invoice.
I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Poundbury. I need to find out if they are on the bank's approved list of lawyers. Could you help?
It’s a good idea contact the lawyer to check if they are on the lender's approved list. If that does not help call us and we can make some checks for you. Should the firm not be on the conveyancing panel we we can help find a specialist conveyancing solicitor in Poundbury on the approved list for your lender.