The owners of the house we are hoping to buy hired a conveyancing solicitor in Sawbridgeworth who has recommended a exclusivity agreement with a payment two thousand pounds. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?

Exclusivity agreements are agreements between a home owner and prospective acquirer giving the buyer exclusive rights to purchase the property for a limited period of time. Essentially, an exclusivity is a document specifying that you should be issued with a contract at a later date which is the main conveyancing contract. It is generally used for buyer assurance though in some cases, the vendor may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are various positives and negatives to using an agreement but you should to check with your conveyancer but beware that it may result in incurring more in conveyancing charges. In light of this these contracts are not popular when it comes to conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth.

Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a house in Sawbridgeworth?

Unless a prior acquisition of the premises completed post 12 October 2013 you may take it that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth to continue to propose a a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Sawbridgeworth. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one close by in Sawbridgeworth I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Sawbridgeworth in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

How easy is it to change a solicitor as I need to find a Sawbridgeworth based one who is on the bank conveyancing panel. How simple is it to change conveyancer?

In the event that you have not formally instructed a solicitor to commence the conveyancing and have just received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Sawbridgeworth that you're considering.