Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Charmouth costs more?

Charmouth leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving applicable notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Charmouth. Do I receive the keys to the premises on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Charmouth?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

My wife and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from RBS as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Charmouth. Are we obliged to appoint a local Charmouth solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

RBS would not normally require firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the RBS conveyancing panel.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Charmouth. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £200. Not long after, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the UBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the UBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

How does conveyancing in Charmouth differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Charmouth contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because builders in Charmouth tend to acquire 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 property lawyers 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 Charmouth or who has acted in the same development.

Should I be suspicious that estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting an internet conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Charmouth conveyancing firm?

As with lots of service providers, often suggestions from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may put forward solicitors to retain. On occasion these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there may be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to appoint your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that most banks specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Charmouth which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Charmouth. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field.

Charmouth Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Where a Charmouth lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Charmouthlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease. Does this lease have more than 82 years remaining? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?