My husband and I are looking to purchase a house in Witham and are in fact using a Witham conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Skipton Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Witham conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Witham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
AssumingI were to purchase a simple residential homein Witham for cash and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much would I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Witham?
Any savings you would make would be limited to the costs for searches. A lawyer still got to do everything else - money laundering, correspond with the vendors solicitor, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a charge however it will not be a lot.
I have justbeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Witham for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make 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 Witham conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Witham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Witham approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Witham tend to buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Witham or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Witham I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Witham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
There are only Fifty years left on my lease in Witham. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Witham.
I bought a studio flat in Witham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Witham with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080
You have 58 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £23,800 and £27,400 plus legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.