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snowball Downsizer Moderator
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joanne
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 7100 Location: Morecambe, Lancashire
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 12 7:46 am Post subject: Re: Pitfalls of buying a leasehold flat |
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Snowball wrote: |
Are there any?
WE have figured out that we are not going to use the vendors' estate agent linked solicitors no matter how nice and helpful they want to be.
Obviously we need to see the lease agreement and service charges in writing. Is there anything else we can demand that may make reference to future maintenance costs or anything like that? |
I wouldn't worry too much about the fact that the estate agents have a linked solicitors - this is quite common and is just a way of getting work passed to them, it's a very tough market for conveyancers out there at the moment and they are having to work much harder and more competitively than they've ever done, especially with the introduction of what is commonly known as 'Tesco Law' which opens up the market to 'other' providers. There are alot of solicitors merging or going under at the moment as their bread and butter work ie conveyancing is disappearing
Under the rules in the SRA Handbook that came into force last October each solicitor performing conveyancing services has to be seen to be conforming to the code of conduct which requires them to comply with the following
�provide a proper standard of service to your clients� by �taking into account the individual needs and circumstances of each client.�
and ensure that clients are in a position to make informed decisions about the services they need, how their matter will be handled and the options available to them.
They also have to have systems in place to monitor risk and ensure that all 3rd party search providers are accredited by the Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO).
Any good solicitor should perform a number of searches based on the postcode, these will include
1) A drainage and water search to identify where the drainage is, who is responsible etc,
2) A local council search using either a personal search company if your lender allows them (they are often cheaper) or an official search by going straight to the council. Depending on the area and the property you are buying they may look at roads and surrounding areas for any applications for development and there are numerous other additional questions such as common land, pipe lines, houses in multiple occupation, noise abatement etc
3) Any local hazards such as flooding, radon, coal, limestone, brine (mainly Cheshire), ball clay, china clay and if the High Speed 2 proposed rail route is within 5000 metres - this is usually covered by a residential environmental search from either Groundsure or Landmark, although there are specific extra searches needed for coal mining areas and areas where china clay is mined
4) A Land Registry search to establish title and any covenants held on the property, if its already registered with the Land Registry (ie previously sold after about 1990), the results should be pretty instant although they are a right royal pain in the backside and if there are big lease documents they haven't always scanned them in so there is a delay
For a flat that has a leasehold (pretty common), there will be 2 searches needed at the land registry, the lease documents and the freehold documents, this should reveal most of the issues you are worrying about
You also need another Land Registry product when you are about to complete to prevent someone else coming in and placing a charge on the property before you - For freehold or standalone properties its known as as OS1 - Official Search with Priority and for Flats or sometimes new builds it's known as an OS2 - Official Search of Part with Priority
Beyond that, is up to your individual solicitor and the needs of the property, there can be a Chancel search done if you are in a village or area where there is likely to be a Chancel Repair liability for the local church or transport searches for cities to see how near the trams or underground run.
Hope that helps
BTW, I only know all this because I work for a company that provides all these searches as a 'one stop shop' - We don't do the searches ourselves, we just provide the technology to do it all from one place and not have to go to each supplier individually and over time the conveyancing requirements tend to sink in |
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snowball Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 6246 Location: swindon
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WandaBlue
Joined: 03 Feb 2011 Posts: 40 Location: Sanday, Orkney
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