We are buying a brand new flat in Pitstone and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I don't want to delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Should our conveyancer be asking questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Pitstone.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in Pitstone. Plenty of people will buy a house in Pitstone, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that may be carried out by the buyer or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in Pitstone. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the seller to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the seller, then a purchaser may bring a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading answer. The buyer’s lawyers may also carry out an environmental search. This should indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be carried out.
It has been 4 months since my purchase conveyancing in Pitstone completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 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 residence 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.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Pitstone I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Pitstone suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
My husband and I are new on the property ladder - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent advised that the vendor will only proceed if we use their preferred solicitors as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer who is accustomed to conveyancing in Pitstone
We suspect that the owner is not behind this ultimatum. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Contact the vendors directly and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to instruct your own,trusted Pitstone conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will earn the estate agent a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing targets pre-set by corporate headquarters.