How do I protect my offer from gazumping?
This takes place when an offer is rejected, following initial acceptance, by the property owner, opting instead for a better offer. There is almost always a risk of being gazumped. The first step in reducing the chance that gazumping will effect you is to instruct your conveyancing solicitor as early as possible.
Does a Almondsbury property lawyer get any searches on the Gloucestershire Fifties terraced property we are buying?
The conventional procedure will be to get Local Authority Search, Drainage and Water Search (CON29DW or personal) and Environment Search, and possibly unique particular for example Bankruptcy Search (K16).
We have a found a property to buy. How do we get fast conveyancing?
As is widely reported, buying faster is key to instruct a experienced lawyer. When finding a suitable a lawyer, you should ask the following: How soon will they order searches? Do they offer 'instant' online quotes? Do they use email?
What does our searches usually cost?
Searches range in cost, and will be dependent on your lender's requirements.
How does a Help to Buy scheme work for me?
This government-sponsored scheme aims to assist homebuyers with three ways of purchasing a property:
- Help to Buy ISA - if you are a first-time buyer and don’t own any other property (anywhere in the world), and you don’t have another cash ISA opened in the same tax year, when you buy your first home, the solicitor will apply for the government bonus on your behalf when closure of your Home to Buy ISA used to buy the property is confirmed.
- Help to Buy: Equity Loan - if you have no other property and are buying a newly-built home, the government will provide 20% of the cost of the house (up to a maximum of £600,000), leaving you with the saved 5% deposit and a 75% mortgage to cover the remainder. This is open to current homeowners and first-time buyers, and the home cannot be sublet nor can it be used in a part-exchange deal.
- Help to Buy: Shared Ownership - if your household earns less than £80,000, you could be eligible for this scheme, which allows you to buy between 25% and 75% of the home’s value, while the government pays the remainder on which you would then pay rent.
(information retrieved from HM Government’s Help to Buy website on 16 April 2019).
Contact the Money Advice Service, the government’s Help to Buy website, or your local ‘Help to Buy’ agent for more information.
Does our Almondsbury conveyancer tell me about the cost of council tax on a Band C property prior to completing on the purchase?
A solicitor will approach the South Gloucestershire local authority to discover the relevant council tax band and rates, which will be set out in the title report. Up-to-date charges for homes in Almondsbury are tabled online at the South Gloucestershire council site. Currently, 24 October 2012, rates for all bands are:
- Band A - £1,023.00
- Band B - £1,193.00
- Band C - £1,364.00
- Band D - £1,534.00
- Band E - £1,875.00
- Band F - £2,216.00
- Band G - £2,557.00
- Band H - £3,068.00
What should I do about the transfer of ownership of the utility billing?
It is the responsibility of the former owners to inform the utilities firms (gas, electricity, water, etc.) that they are moving.
You should give your current suppliers at least 48 hours’ notice that you’re moving home and, when you leave your old property, you should take all the necessary readings and send them to your old supplier(s) along with your forwarding address, so that they can send you a final bill and sort out any credit you might be owed.
You should give your new utility suppliers at least 48 hours giving your personal details for the new property. When you move into your new property, you should take all the readings again and send them to the new suppliers so that they have a record of where to start the bills running.