The West Moors conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in West Moors have without warning closed. I chose them because I had to have a solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel and my preferred West Moors lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the UBS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.
I acquired my apartment on 3 February and the transaction details are still not on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in West Moors advises it would be registered inside ten days. Are titles in West Moors particularly slow to register?
As far as conveyancing in West Moors registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timeframes can differ depending on the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and if the Land registry must send notices to any other persons or bodies. Currently roughly 80% of such applications are completed within two weeks but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Registration is effected once the new owner has moved in to the premises thus 'speed' is not typically primary concern but where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer must contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I'm buying a new build house in West Moors with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it will 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 builder 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 opted to have a survey done on a property in West Moors in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on this type of house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in West Moors. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Am I best advised to go with a West Moors conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities but her office is 200kilometers away.
The benefit of a local West Moors conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign documents, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and in the main were content that should surpass using an unfamiliar West Moors conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.
Last October I purchased a leasehold house in West Moors. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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).
West Moors Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying
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Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants? It would be prudent to find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in West Moors leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in West Moors. If you love the apartmentin West Moors yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a specific payment.