Should our conveyancer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Cullompton.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Cullompton. There are those who acquire a property in Cullompton, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Cullompton. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual question of the owner to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser could bring a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect answer. A purchaser’s lawyers will also commission an environmental report. This should reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be made.

Me and my brother own a semi-detached Edwardian property in Cullompton. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Virgin Money. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cullompton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

I am purchasing a new build house in Cullompton with a loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not reveal to my solicitor about this extras as it may adversely affect my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Should I instruct a Cullompton conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can conduct the legal formalities however they are based 300kilometers away.

The benefit of a local Cullompton conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were content that should trump using an unknown Cullompton conveyancing solicitor just because they are Cullompton based.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Cullompton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cullompton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Cullompton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? Is there a share of the freehold? Does this lease have in excess of 82 years unexpired?