The lawyer who helped my former purchase has sent a quote for £1400 for fixed fee conveyancing in Crawley. I’m hoping to sell a Victorian detached home for £300,000. Is this too much? Is it in excess of the average fee for conveyancing in Crawley?
The estimate does seem marginally steep. If you shop around you might shave off some of the expense by as much as £125. On the other hand, you couldcome to rue opting for an an untested lawyer. If is important to check that the firm can represent your bank. Do utilise our search tool to find a Crawley conveyancing firm on the lender’s approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Crawley.
My fiance and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Crawley with Santander. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Santander conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Santander had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Should my conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Crawley.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Crawley. Some people will acquire a property in Crawley, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Crawley. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the seller to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser could bring a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate response. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also commission an enviro report. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations should be initiated.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Crawley I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Crawley in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.
My father-in-law has suggested that I use his conveyancers in Crawley. Do I take his guidance?
There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to find a conveyancing solicitor is to get guidance from friends or relatives who have actually used the solicitor you're contemplating using.