My wife and I are buying a brand new apartment in Freshwater Bay and my solicitor is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do I need to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Freshwater Bay so that I can attend their offices when needed.
As opposed to 15 years ago, almost all banks no longer oblige their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over identification documents and there are still distinct advantages to choosing a locally based practitioner, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Freshwater Bay.
A colleague advised me that where I am buying in Freshwater Bay I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Freshwater Bay conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Freshwater Bay around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Freshwater Bay Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Freshwater Bay Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Freshwater Bay.
I have todaybecome aware that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Freshwater Bay for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to check 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 Freshwater Bay conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Freshwater Bay differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Freshwater Bay come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because new home sellers in Freshwater Bay usually buy the real estate, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Freshwater Bay or who has acted in the same development.