Can I use your services to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in Waterbeach even where I’m not buying or selling a house, for instance if I wish to acquire a shop in Waterbeach with a mortgage from Barclays ?
Our search tool is primarily there to help choose domestic conveyancing solicitors in Waterbeach but we have listed at the end of this page a few Waterbeach commercial conveyancing firms. You should make contact with the company directly to see if they can also act for Barclays
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Waterbeach. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A few days later, the property lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nottingham panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, RBS are being difficult. The Waterbeach solicitor who is on the RBS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but RBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do RBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
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 Waterbeach solicitor - who is on the RBS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS 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 Waterbeach 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.
Will our conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Waterbeach.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Waterbeach. There are those who purchase a property in Waterbeach, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that may be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Waterbeach. The conventional set of property information forms given to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the owner to discover if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading reply. The purchaser’s lawyers should also conduct an enviro report. This will disclose whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be initiated.
I have recentlybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Waterbeach for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way 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 Waterbeach conveyancing specialists.
Am I better off to use a Waterbeach conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities but his firm is located approximately 350kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Waterbeach conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Waterbeach know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and the majority were happy that must outweigh using an unknown Waterbeach conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.
My wife and I may need to let out our Waterbeach basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Waterbeach conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
Some leases for properties in Waterbeach do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.
Waterbeach Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing
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What is the name of the managing agents? The answer will be helpful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.