My husband and I are hoping to buy a flat in Royston and are in fact using a Royston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Royston conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Royston lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Do I have to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Royston so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary 12 years ago, almost all mortgage companies no longer need their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to using a locally based solicitor, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Royston.
How does conveyancing in Royston differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Royston approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Royston 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 conveyancers 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 Royston or who has acted in the same development.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Royston I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Royston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
I have been pointed in your direction by numerous selling agents in Royston to choose a solicitor using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your services over and above alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t give any referral fee for sending work to this site. 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 getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I am employed by a long established estate agency in Royston where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Royston conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Royston - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Ask other people whether they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Please tell me if there are any major works in the planning that could increase the service costs?