Just been in touch with my conveyancing solicitor in Walsingham who completed the legal work 18 months ago asking for a conveyancing costs illustration based on the same type of house sale & purchase (a leasehold premises and a freehold property) of almost identical values with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank. I am now being quoted double. Better the devil I know or should I try and find an alternative firm of conveyancing solicitor?
The estimate does seem a tad overpriced. If you are content to expend time comparing quotes you may be able to shave off some of the cost by say £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, if you were happy with the legal work the firm offered you mightlive to regret choosing an a cheaper lawyer. Don't forget to ensure that the firm can also act for Lloyds TSB Bank. Do make use of our search tool to find a Walsingham conveyancing firm on the Lloyds TSB Bank member panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Walsingham.
We are only a couple days away from an exchange on a property in Walsingham and my parents have sent the ten percent deposit to my conveyancing practitioner. I am now advised that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my property lawyer needs to disclose this to my mortgage company. Apparently, in also acting for the mortgage company he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for this now to hold matters up?
Your solicitor is obliged to clarify with lender to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only disclose this to your lender if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Walsingham is more expensive?
The conveyancing costs on a leasehold premises in Walsingham is inevitably greater as compared to a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is because there is an amount of additional time required in corresponding with the landlord and managing agents to obtain evidence about whether the rent and maintenance fee have been discharged and whether there are any significant expenditure in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the block.
I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Walsingham for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Walsingham conveyancing specialists.
Last June I purchased a leasehold flat in Walsingham. Am I liable to pay 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).
Walsingham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a one off payment. If a Walsingham lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Walsinghamlease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension.
My wife and I are acquiring a studio flat in Walsingham. At the point of instructing our lawyer, they said that they were on all mainstream lender panels. The mortgage broker called yesterday to advise that they are not on the Yorkshire BS approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Should we just choose a different solicitor that is on their approved list or do we cover the costs for separate representation, with Yorkshire BS appointing their own preferred lawyer.
When buying a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser’s solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the conveyancer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the property lawyer has to fulfill. Some lenders now insist their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should call Yorkshire BS to discover 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 Yorkshire BS's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Walsingham solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.