I am helping my aunt sell her flat in Trowbridge. Will the conveyancer commission the energy performance certificate or it is for me to see to?

Following the abolition of HIPs, energy performance certificates was retained a mandatory element of selling a property. An energy performance certificate should be to hand in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms ordinarily organise. If you are instructing a Trowbridge conveyancing practitioner they may be willing to arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with long established local providers

I currently have a mortgage with for my property in Trowbridge. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform ?

Your original mortgage agreement with will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. It may be that will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a conveyancing panel firm.

At last I have had an offer on an apartment in Trowbridge agreed to, the sellers do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The sellers have offered on somewhere, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Trowbridge. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with going?

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Trowbridge conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your is on the approved list. Regarding the next steps this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a rising market the majority of purchasers will apply for a home loan with and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their to proceed with searches.

I am selling our house in Trowbridge and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Trowbridge conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers used a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Trowbridge. We have lived in Trowbridge for many years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Trowbridge. I now require my papers however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Trowbridge of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm buying my first flat in Trowbridge with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative told me not inform my solicitor about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 am attracted to a two apartments in Trowbridge which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Trowbridge is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Trowbridge conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Trowbridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who manages the block? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. The answer will be helpful as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to know about it