We are buying a newly constructed flat in Yarmouth and my solicitor is telling me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and my preference is not to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
The Yarmouth conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Yarmouth have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Barclays conveyancing panel and my previous Yarmouth lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Barclays conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Yarmouth and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Yarmouth. Having lived in Yarmouth for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
How does conveyancing in Yarmouth differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Yarmouth come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because developers in Yarmouth tend to purchase the site, 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 property lawyers 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 Yarmouth or who has acted in the same development.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Yarmouth I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Yarmouth suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.