It may have been a long time coming a loan offer from Santander for the refinancing of my 2 room maisonette is coming imminently. Could you propose a cheap conveyancing solicitor in Higham Wood?

This site is not designed to assist those in pursuit of the cheapest conveyancing solicitors in Higham Wood. We can offer you value for money conveyancing but we do not advertise as being the cheapest. Do not be swayed by organisations offering the bait of low cost conveyancing in Higham Wood. In your best case scenario, in going for low cost conveyancing, you will earn what you pay for and at worst it will result in you being stung for extras and still not receive the service required.

Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of Higham Wood conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel?

Higham Wood conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Nationwide directly.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Higham Wood I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Higham Wood for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Higham Wood from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Higham Wood can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled. If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Higham Wood conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Higham Wood Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned if a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or result in a one off invoice. Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Higham Woodlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for 24 months before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Why is it not possible to complete our conveyancing in Higham Wood on a public holiday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the sale price needs to be transferred electronically between the banks of the purchaser and owner’s lawyer and at present this can only take place on a working day. So you can't complete on a weekend either.