We are planning to acquire a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in St Leonards On Sea who is on the RBS conveyancing panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for RBS . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea.
We previously chose conveyancers with offices in St Leonards On Sea on the Lloyds solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate fee for handling the Lloyds mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Lloyds?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your property lawyer may levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Lloyds but by your St Leonards On Sea conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the Lloyds panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms include it on their overall fee.
How can we know in advance if a St Leonards On Sea conveyancing solicitor on the Yorkshire BS panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea seeking recommendations is a sensible starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.
I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local St Leonards On Sea solicitor - who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own St Leonards On Sea surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
My colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in St Leonards On Sea I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard St Leonards On Sea conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about St Leonards On Sea around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the St Leonards On Sea Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, St Leonards On Sea Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about St Leonards On Sea.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. St Leonards On Sea is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in St Leonards On Sea are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside St Leonards On Sea you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Leonards On Sea may determine 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 premises.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial offices in St Leonards On Sea and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to gives security of tenure to commercial leaseholders, giving them the a statutory right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of the lease term. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. St Leonards On Sea is one of the numerous locations in which our lawyers are based
I've recently bought a leasehold house in St Leonards On Sea. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).
St Leonards On Sea Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? It would be wise to investigate if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in St Leonards On Sea. If you love the propertyin St Leonards On Sea yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard compromise. The answer will be helpful as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure