My husband and I are looking to buy a home in Heacham and are in fact using a Heacham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Alliance & Leicester have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Heacham solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Heacham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Heacham even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for instance if I wish to acquire an office in Heacham with a loan from Halifax?

Our search tool is primarily there to locate domestic conveyancing solicitors in Heacham but we have set out towards the end of this page a selection of Heacham commercial conveyancing firms. You should make contact with the solicitors directly to see if they are also authorised to represent Halifax

Am I right to be concerned by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are suggesting an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Heacham conveyancing practice?

As with many service providers, often referrals from connections can be worth their weight in gold. But there are lots of people with a keen interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks may suggest conveyancers to appoint. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there might be a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to choose your preferred conveyancer. You need to be aware that many mortgage providers specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Heacham. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Heacham are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Heacham so you should seriously consider looking for a Heacham conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Heacham - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

It would be a good idea to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Heacham leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Heacham. If you like the flatin Heacham however your dog can’t move with you then you will be presented with a hard determination. In the main the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Heacham require tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Please note if it is less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Heachamlease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension.

I pay a service charge for my appartment in Heacham. As a result of personal circumstances I slipped behind with remittance. The managing agents agreed a settlement schedule but there remains three grand outstanding at the current time.

I now wish to dispose of the property and I am nervous that this may hold me back if I have to settle the arrears in advance. Do I have to settle before - is this achievable?

It would be wise to clarify with the lawyer handling your Heacham conveyancing but it might be possible to agree for the debt to be transferred to the purchasers. The sale price they pay would be reduced to reflect the amount of debt they assume. They could then pay the outstanding monies post completion of the purchase.