My wife and I are buying a house in Hightown. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I currently have a mortgage with Nationwide for my property in Hightown. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Nationwide?
Your original mortgage agreement with Nationwide will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel lawyer.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Hightown. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the main reason for hinderance in Hightown conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Hightown.
It has been 2 months following my purchase conveyancing in Hightown concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. 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 Hightown differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Hightown come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because new home sellers in Hightown tend to acquire the real estate, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Hightown or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Hightown I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hightown suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.