My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Helmsley and have appointed a Helmsley conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Helmsley solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Helmsley lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
4 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Helmsley concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Helmsley differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Helmsley contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because developers in Helmsley usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Helmsley or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Helmsley I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Helmsley for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
How do I use the search tool to find a conveyancing solicitor in Helmsley on the authorised to act for my bank?
1st choose a mortgage company such as Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works or Aldermore then type in your location such as Helmsley. Conveyancing organisations in Helmsley and beyond should be shown.