As a first time buyer what is the most important piece of guidance you can give me regarding purchase conveyancing in Cheetham Hill?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Cheetham Hill or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is plenty of room for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the vendor, estate agent and even potentially a mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Cheetham Hill is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the process whose responsibility is to act in your best interests and to protect you.

Sometimes a potential adversary will attempt to convince you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For instance, the selling agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your solicitor is wrong. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do take action that is contrary to your solicitors guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

When scouring mumsnet.com for an online solicitor in Cheetham Hill, most post that I should use a CQS accredited lawyer. What is CQS?

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a kitemark for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing processes through the scheme protocol It covers many companies who handle conveyancing in Cheetham Hill.

Will my conveyancer be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Cheetham Hill.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Cheetham Hill. There are those who purchase a property in Cheetham Hill, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better understanding of the risks in Cheetham Hill. The standard property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard question of the seller to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser could issue a compensation claim resulting from an misleading response. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also conduct an enviro report. This will indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be initiated.

I am purchasing my first flat in Cheetham Hill with a mortgage from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Cheetham Hill where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Cheetham Hill conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Cheetham Hill, conveyancing having been completed January 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Cheetham Hill with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

With 55 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.