I have justbecome aware that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Topsham for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Topsham conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Topsham differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Topsham contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because new home sellers in Topsham tend to buy 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 Topsham or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Topsham I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Topsham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.

Am I better off to appoint a Topsham conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can perform the conveyancing but they are based a couple of hundredmiles away.

The primary upside of using a local Topsham conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them if necessary. Having local Topsham know how is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were content that must surpass using an unfamiliar Topsham conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.

Completion is due on our sale of a £250,000 maisonette in Topsham on Friday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Topsham?

Topsham conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically involves fees being invoiced by management companies :

Answering pre-contract questions Where consent is required before sale in Topsham Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Topsham leasehold property is £350. For Topsham conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Topsham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

How much is the annual service fee and ground rent? This information is important as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure Plenty Topsham leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it could be surprisingly expensive.