We are qualified in all areas of property law and are here to help you avoid potential problems and to protect your interest at every step, from making an offer to getting the keys to the front door
Costs
In addition to the purchase price and our fees there will be other costs such as stamp duty, VAT, Land Registry fees and other search fees.
What we will need from you
Before we begin we will ask you to provide:
Some personal identification
The price of the property
Any time frames for the move
How you are planning to pay for the property
We will also need to know whether
You have applied for a mortgage
You are buying with someone else
The seller is buying another property, and
You have a property to sell.
Contacting the seller’s solicitor
Once we are instructed by you we will write to the seller’s solicitor and they will send us a draft contract and a copy of the title deeds for the property. They will also send us a form listing the fittings and contents which will be included in the sale. It is important that you check this list and are clear about what is included.
Searches:
We will then make various official searches about the property including enquires with the local authority. These searches can help reveal any planning issues affecting the property, such as road improvements and details of any planning permission granted on the property. Depending on where the property is we may also carry out searches for flooding, mining and contaminated-land. If we are concerned about anything raised in these searches we will let you know.
Leasehold Property:
If the property you are buying is leasehold (particularly common when buying a flat), there will be detailed lease terms and conditions. We will check these carefully and will make enquiries with the seller’s solicitor or the managing agents of the property about what service charges and management costs you will have to pay.
Survey Advice:
If you are purchasing the property with a mortgage, your mortgage lender will need an independent valuation of the property. Usually they will appoint their own surveyor to do this, but you will have to pay for it. It is important to note that this is a valuation and not a survey.
You should consider appointing your own surveyor (it can be the same person as the valuer) to carry out a survey on the property as it is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey reveals that building works are needed, you must tell us as it may allow you to renegotiate the purchase price.