My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Sandy and have instructed a Sandy conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Sandy conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Sandy solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can conveyancing in Sandy to be concluded in two weeks?
In a situation where you are under a tight deadline to complete it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will have local contacts and insight. It is even conceivable that they could have transacted previoushomes in the same street. Therefore consider using a Sandy conveyancing solicitor. In addition, check that the conveyancing firm is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is estimated that 18% of Sandy conveyancing transactions are delayed or derailed after finding out that a buyer’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors. This can often result in the legal transfer of property being delayed by as much as three weeks. It is estimated that this issue affects in the region of 100,000 home sales annually. Many Sandy conveyancing practices can not represent certain lenders so do check at the outset.
My colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in Sandy I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Sandy conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Sandy around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Sandy Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Sandy.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Sandy is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Sandy are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Sandy you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Sandy may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I am 14 days into a residential purchase having been recommend to a firm by the local agent to perform conveyancing in Sandy. We are not happy. Can you help me find new solicitors?
A lawyer would need to be very poor to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? If so you need to inform them of the new contact details and have the offer are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer should be on the lenders panel to avoid added costs and frustration. That should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool can help you find a lender approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Sandy
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Sandy. 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 owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 Sandy - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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Its a good idea to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the upkeep of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants whether they are happy with their management. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. If a Sandy lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Sandylease extensions you will need to own the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease.