I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Shaftesbury and the estate agent has just called to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Shaftesbury ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Shaftesbury is more expensive?
In short, leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury and elsewhere usually necessitates extra work compared to freehold transactions. This includes checking the lease terms, communicating with the landlord about the service of appropriate notices, obtaining current service charge and management information, procuring the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – regardless of the fact the lease has passed through many different property solicitors hands since it was first entered into.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Shaftesbury.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Shaftesbury. Some people will acquire a property in Shaftesbury, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Shaftesbury. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the seller to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate reply. A purchaser’s lawyers should also commission an environmental report. This should higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be carried out.
Is it possible to switch conveyancer as I have to choose one who is on the TSB conveyancing list. I hired a high street conveyancing solicitor in Shaftesbury five minutes from me but she is not accepted by TSB
It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Shaftesbury on the TSB panel. Please note that the solicitors that we list do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Shaftesbury. In utilising search facility on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Shaftesbury.
I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Shaftesbury. I happened to land on a web site which appears to be the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via web that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I am employed by a busy estate agency in Shaftesbury where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Shaftesbury conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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.
Shaftesbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying
-
Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other major work is coming up to be shared by the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a one time payment. This information is useful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have complete disclosure The majority of Shaftesbury leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive.