My partner and I are looking to purchase a house in Broughton Astley and are in fact using a Broughton Astley conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Halifax have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Broughton Astley solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Broughton Astley solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
IfI were to acquire a straightforward housein Broughton Astley for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Broughton Astley?
The sole reduction in fees you would achieve is the disbursement for searches. Your property lawyer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with your vendors conveyancer, stamp duty submission, register the ownership etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a charge however it will not be a lot.
Will our solicitor be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Broughton Astley.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Broughton Astley. There are those who buy a property in Broughton Astley, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Broughton Astley. The standard property information forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the owner to determine whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may commence a claim for damages resulting from an misleading response. The buyer’s solicitors will also order an enviro report. This should reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be conducted.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Broughton Astley and how can your lawyers assist?
The particular law that you refer to provides security of tenure to business leaseholders, giving them the a statutory right to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing practices who use the act for protection and assist with commercial conveyancing in Broughton Astley
We own a leasehold flat in Broughton Astley. Conveyancing was finalised in last year. I have heard that I should not let the the remaining lease term to fall too short. Is this right?
Broughton Astley domestic long term leases are for a fixed term - often ninety nine years when they commenced. However a significant flats in Broughton Astley were constructed or converted 30 or more years ago and so these leases now have fewer than 80 years left to run. That may seem like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders on the whole require leases to have a minimum of seventy five years left to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching eighty years. To optimize your property value you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also significant benefits to taking action before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease is less than 80 years the premium to be paid to extend starts to increase.