Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in East Yorkshire?

If you are buying a property in East Yorkshire your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. Generally this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is as part of the total price then this will be needed immediately prior to contracts are exchanged. The final balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.

A colleague suggested that where I am purchasing in East Yorkshire I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard East Yorkshire conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about East Yorkshire around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning East Yorkshire.

I'm purchasing a new build house in East Yorkshire with a loan from Barclays . The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with Barclays . Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our East Yorkshire ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a East Yorkshire conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous East Yorkshire conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

East Yorkshire Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

How many years are left on the lease? Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? It would be wise to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they can either make your living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of their management. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money.

I am soon to complete buying a house in East Yorkshire but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the vendor of five thousand pounds by way of a reduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process but my mortgage company will not agree to this. Why were they approached?

The conveyancing practitioner that is on a bank conveyancing panel is required to inform the lender of any changes to the purchase amount. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to notify the reduction to your lender then they would need to discontinue representing you and the lender.