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

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Great Coates and elsewhere in Lincolnshire is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the home moving process. For example, the seller, selling agent and even potentially the lender. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Great Coates should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the process whose interest is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.

On occasion a potential adversary will try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is slow. Or your financial adviser may try to convince you to do take action that is against your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Great Coates. Conveyancing is necessary. What happens now?

Having exchanged you will need to retain a conveyancing practitioner soon as you now have a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the purchase. An auction property will have an associated legal pack. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the conveyancing papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You must hand this to the lawyer working for you ASAP. You also need to ensure that your finances are in order to complete on the on the contractual date .

We have agreed to purchase a house in Great Coates. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Co-operative be concerned?

As your lender is Co-operative your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions set out in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Co-operative. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Co-operative where a lease does not comply with these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Great Coates.

I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Great Coates solicitor - who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Great Coates postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Great Coates.

How does conveyancing in Great Coates differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Great Coates approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because house builders in Great Coates tend to acquire the real estate, 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 Great Coates or who has acted in the same development.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Great Coates what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Great Coates. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Insurance obligations Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Great Coates Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters such as the upkeep of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds. Plenty Great Coates leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. If you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or result in a one time payment.

My intention is to acquire a garden apartment in Great Coates. Conveyancing lawyer has been waiting for, from the seller, building insurance documents. Earlier today I was advised that the seller must send the insurance schedule for the flat above also. Why would my conveyancing practitioner want to see the insurance for the other flat? Is it really necessary? We have been waiting for the previous fortnight…

It is not unheard of in leasehold conveyancing in Great Coates to find Conveyancing in Great Coates in a minority of cases reveals that the lease provides for the tenant's to insure their individual flats as opposed to the landlord insuring the entire property - which is definitely preferable. Do double check with your lawyer but it would seem that your conveyancer is seeking to verify that the complete building is insured. Insuring a ground floor apartment is no help when it comes to rebuilding after a fire if the 1st floor cannot be reconstructed as a result of lack of insurance cover.