Our solicitor has discovered a a problem with the lease for the flat we are buying in Hampshire. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
We note that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Hampshire?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Hampshire.
A friend advised me that if I am buying in Hampshire I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Hampshire conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Hampshire around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hampshire Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Hampshire Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Hampshire.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Hampshire I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hampshire in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
My uncle has recommend that I use his conveyancing solicitors in Hampshire. Do I follow his guidance?
There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to select a conveyancing solicitor is to seek guidance from friends or family who have experience in using the solicitor that you are are thinking of instructing.