My wife and I are buying a brand new duplex in Rayleigh and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the bank to disclose incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as FTB of a garden flat in Rayleigh. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Rayleigh. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be called to pick up the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
My fiancee and I are in the throws of looking at houses in Rayleigh and I am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have my conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a home loan with HSBC.
It would be prudent to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with HSBC, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Bank of Ireland have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a flat in Rayleigh has been accepted, what are the next steps?
Your property agent will wish to be informed of your lawyer's details (make sure the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s approved list). Telephone Bank of Ireland or the broker and complete any appropriate documentation. Bank of Ireland will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Bank of Ireland will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Rayleigh.
Will my solicitor be raising questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Rayleigh.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Rayleigh. Some people will acquire a house in Rayleigh, fully aware 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 get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Rayleigh. The conventional set of property information forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard inquiry of the seller to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a claim for damages stemming from an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s lawyers should also conduct an enviro search. This will indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be conducted.
What does commercial conveyancing in Rayleigh cover?
Rayleigh conveyancing for business premises incorporates a broad array of services, offered by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh for my home move. Is there any facility to see a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
One may read published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded call for training reasons.
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Rayleigh where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Rayleigh conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I purchased a 2 bed flat in Rayleigh, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Rayleigh with an extended lease are worth £192,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2079
You have 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.