My wife and I have lately purchased a house in Hailsham. We have noticed several issues with the house which we suspect were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been conducted as part of conveyancing in Hailsham?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Hailsham. Conveyancing searches and investigations undertaken during the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, the vendor completes a form known as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers provided is inaccurate, you could possibly take legal action against the seller for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Hailsham.
The Hailsham conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Hailsham have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the Principality conveyancing panel and my family Hailsham lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 Principality 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 lawyers may be able to assist.
Will our conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Hailsham.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Hailsham. There are those who buy a property in Hailsham, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be initiated by the buyer or by their lawyers which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Hailsham. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the owner to find out if the property has ever been flooded. If the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also conduct an environmental report. This should higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be made.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Hailsham I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hailsham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
My wife and I have AIP from National Westminster Bank who have advised we could borrow up to £218k. When do we need to appoint a solicitor for conveyancing? Hailsham is where we plan to move to.
It would be wise to instruct a lawyer now so that the property lawyer can open the file so they can do their AML checks etc. Once you wish them to start work they will seek a deposit normally about £175. That would generally be once you have the loan offer from the lender and valuation back, but should you wish to speed matters you can start sooner even though you may be risking some money.