Just been in touch with my conveyancing solicitor in Sale who conducted the legals two years ago requesting a conveyancing costs illustration based on an identical type of house move (a leasehold residence and a freehold premises) of similar values with a mortgage from Barclays Direct. It looks as though am now being charged double. Am I right to be tempted to shop around for a cheaper internet conveyancer?
The charges seem a bit high. Where you are happy to invest time contrasting costs you may be able to get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by perhaps £100 plus VAT. That being said, if you were content with the service the firm provided you couldcome to regret choosing an an untested lawyer. If is important to check the solicitor can act for Barclays Direct. Do employ our search tool to locate a Sale conveyancing firm on the Barclays Direct approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Sale.
When will exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Sale and am I required to be at the conveyancers office?
Where you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Sale you are invited in to sign contracts. That being said, the law practices we recommend provide countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you electronically. The signing of the contract is not the important part. A signed contract simply enables the firm to officially exchange when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is is usually a five minute process, although where a long "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Sale)to be in the office at the appropriate time.
How does conveyancing in Sale differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Sale come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because new home sellers in Sale typically acquire the site, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Sale or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Sale ahead of retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Sale. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Sale to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Sale conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sale conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sale conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be of use:
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How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
Sale Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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What is the the remaining lease term? The majority of Sale leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually in instalments accross the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Its a good idea to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they can either make living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds.
My husband and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom bungalowin Sale with a residential mortgage from a bank. We have a solicitor in Sale however our bank advise she’s not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct from the our lender panel solicitors or stay with our Sale solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our mortgage company use our Sale lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The bank home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had open panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Sale : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.