My property lawyer in Watton is not listed on the Alliance & Leicester Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the Alliance & Leicester approved list?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Watton solicitors but Alliance & Leicester will need to retain a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges and cause frustration.
- Choose an alternative solicitor to act in the conveyancing, not forgetting to check they are Persuade your solicitor to use their best endeavours to join the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel
A colleague recommended that if I am buying in Watton I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Watton conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Watton around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Watton Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Watton.
I purchased a renovated Edwardian property in Watton. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Chelsea Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Watton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
I'm buying my first flat in Watton benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my solicitor about this extras as it may put at risk my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Watton I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Watton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
What is the difference between surveying and conveyancing in Watton?
Conveyancing - in Watton or anywhere in England and Wales - is the process of legally transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It involves the checking of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you are buying and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you a powerful reason for reducing the price down or asking the vendor to fix the defects prior to you move in.