Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Sandy?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Sandy your solicitor will ask you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is as part of the purchase price then this should be required immediately before exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed will be payable a few days prior to the completion date.

I am purchasing my first flat in Sandy with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about this side-deal as it would jeopardize my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Sandy I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sandy for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

Should you require a home loan that many years may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.

Do I need to be wary that estate agents that I am dealing with are suggesting a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Sandy conveyancing company?

As with lots of service providers, often suggestions from connections can be very helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of players in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all suggest conveyancers to retain. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that some banks have an approved list of lawyers you have to use for the lender related work in your home move.

I own a leasehold flat in Sandy. Conveyancing was finalised in 2011. I have been told that I should not let the the remaining lease term to fall too short. What is the reasoning?

Sandy leasehold properties are for a prescribed term - normally just under one hundred years when they are first granted. However many flats in Sandy were constructed or converted 25 or more years ago and so such leases now have under eighty years unexpired. This may seem like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders tend to need leases to have a minimum of seventy five years left to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to 75 years. To enhance your property value you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Please note that there are advantages to taking action before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease is less than eighty years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to increase.