What is the first thing I need to know concerning purchase conveyancing in Alton?

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Alton or throughout Hampshire is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for friction between you and other parties involved in the house moving process. E.g., the vendor, property agent and sometimes the bank. Choosing a law firm for your conveyancing in Alton an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose role it is to look after your best interests and to protect you.

Every so often a potential adversary may try and sway you that it is in your interests to do things their way. As an example, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your lawyer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do take action that is contrary to your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Alton. Do I receive the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Alton?

On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Alton. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Alton lawyer on the Santander panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Santander mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, RBS are being problematic. The Alton solicitor who is on the RBS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but RBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do RBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that RBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why RBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

How does conveyancing in Alton differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Alton come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because house builders in Alton typically acquire 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Alton or who has acted in the same development.

Last January I purchased a leasehold flat in Alton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Alton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is pending to be shared between the leaseholders and could well materially increase the the maintenance costs or necessitate a one time invoice. It would be sensible to find out as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they can either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with their management. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds.

How diverse are the property law services that Alton conveyancing organisations provide?

For the most part Alton conveyancing organisations can provide various services to residential and rural land owners, sellers, purchasers, freeholders and tenants such as:

Residential sale conveyancing in Alton and elsewhere in the country Domestic purchase conveyancing in Alton and beyond Cohabitation Agreements Non-contentious landlord & tenant matters Leasehold conveyancing selling and buying Equity transfer between partners and families