The owners of the property we are looking to purchase hired a conveyancing firm in Stoke Poges who has insisted on a preliminary agreement with a deposit 6,000. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?
This form of arrangement isn't common in Stoke Poges, conveyancers are not keen on them as they detract from the main conveyancing focus and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the lawyer at best left with an upset client and at worst a litigious one. In addition, there is no certainty that just because the vendor has entered into an exclusivity contract they will sell to you. They may breach the agreement if they are offered a large enough incentive to do so because an aggrieved party with the benefit of a lockoutcontract will still be obliged show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not equalise the financial upside that the owner may gain by breaching the agreement, no matter how morally condemnable the behaviour is.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Stoke Poges last July but my buyer keeps Skype messaging me complaining that her lawyer needs to hear from mylawyer. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
Post completion of your disposal your conveyancer should send the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer must also send confirmation that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements peculiar conveyancing in Stoke Poges.
I am selling my flat in Stoke Poges. Will my property lawyer need to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Skipton conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently currently.
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of delay in Stoke Poges house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Stoke Poges.
I am purchasing my first flat in Stoke Poges with a mortgage from Virgin Money. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about this extras as it will adversely affect my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
We are midway through purchasing a property in Stoke Poges. Conveyancing lawyer has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Does this make a difference on the salability of the property?
Stoke Poges conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The crucial factor here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's essentially freehold, so it shouldn't impact the saleability significantly.
At the other extreme, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a significant impact on the value, and most likely wouldn't be mortgageable. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be specified in the lease to be supplied to your solicitor.