Do commercial conveyancing searches disclose planned roadworks that could affect a commercial land in St Albans?
Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in St Albans will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in St Albans. The search result sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in St Albans.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in St Albans it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may result in delays to St Albans commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in St Albans.
I have todaybeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in St Albans for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 9 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest way to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of St Albans conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in St Albans differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in St Albans come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because new home sellers in St Albans typically purchase 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in St Albans or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one close by in St Albans I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in St Albans suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
How straightforward is it to use your search facility to get a fee calculation from a conveyancing practitioner in St Albans on the panel for my mortgage?
Step one is to choose a lender such as Santander, The Royal Bank of Scotland or Clydesdale then choose your location a common one being St Albans. Conveyancing firms in St Albans and further afield will then be shown.
I work for a busy estate agent office in St Albans where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local St Albans conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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.
Leasehold Conveyancing in St Albans - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Plenty St Albans leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. If a St Albans lease has less than eighty years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most St Albanslease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease. Who manages the block?