No Move, No Fee Tenterden Conveyancing Solicitors

Conveyancing - Buying a property in Tenterden

"Caveat emptor", or "buyer beware", was a fundamental principle of English property law. Following recent changes in the law, this maxim no longer applies. However, it is still the duty of a buyer's solicitor to undertake due diligence on the property to be purchased.

The conveyancing solicitor in Tenterden will offer professional advice after making their enquiries, make practical suggestions and ensure the title is transferred to the new owner.

This section discusses the kinds of residential property that carry additional risk for homebuyers who need conveyancing solicitors in Tenterden.

Your Tenterden conveyancing solicitor must be lender-approved

Whether your mortgage is with a large lender like Barclays Bank or a less common lender such as Bluestone Mortgages, before appointing a Tenterden conveyancing solicitor you must confirm that they can represent your mortgage lender.

Some mortgage lenders are only happy to work with a restricted group of solicitors or licensed conveyancers that pass strict standards. If a solicitor cannot act for your mortgage lender, the lender will require an alternative solicitor firm to carry out the legal work.

The purchaser will usually need to pay this substitute lawyer's costs, and weeks could be added to the conveyancing process.

Neglecting to check the lender panel status of your conveyancing solicitor can mean serious delays.

Our solicitors can perform the conveyancing for all lenders.

Searches (Ashford Borough Council)

Property searches are questions submitted to a number of authorities by Tenterden conveyancing solicitors to identify issues affecting the property being purchased. They include:

• Local Authority (LA) search - contains information about the property and surrounding area held by Ashford Borough Council
• Environmental search - describes hazards (such as historic flooding or mining subsidence) within 500m of the property. This search also identifies sites of contaminated land nearby.
• Drainage & Water search - confirms who is responsible for the upkeep of the water pipes and drainage that serve the property.
• Chancel repair liability - there is a risk that some Tenterden properties owe a liability to the local parish to pay for church repairs. Insurance can be taken out to protect against this liability.

More specific searches, such as a highways search or a geological search, may also be recommended depending on the contents of the standard searches.

Ashford Borough Council has a typical turnaround time of 6 weeks for Residential property searches, so your solicitor will instead apply for quicker personal searches.

Planning searches

Your conveyancing solicitor will obtain an 'Official Copy of the Title Register' from HM Land Registry. This helps to find potential planning issues, such as a restrictive covenant against certain alterations or outbuildings missing from the title plan.

Ashford Borough Council Council Tax

The council tax paid by a homeowner is based on a number of criteria such as the layout of the property and the value of the home as determined by the VOA in 1991 (or 2003 in Wales). For example, for an average Band B house in Tenterden, the amount of council tax would be £1,303 per year.

Tenterden conveyancing solicitors will inform the purchaser of the home's council tax band after this is confirmed by the searches.

If the property is unoccupied for 2 years or more, an additional premium of 50% may be applied to the council tax. Single person discount reduces the tax due to 75% which would equal £977.

Other discounts and exemptions could also apply, for example if the property is uninhabited (for the first 60 days) or if the property is occupied by someone who is seriously mentally impaired.

Band	Ashford Borough Council Tax (2018)
A	£1,117
B	£1,303
C	£1,489
D	£1,675
E	£2,047
F	£2,420
G	£2,792
H	£3,350

Can I challenge my valuation?

It is possible to challenge the council tax band after moving in. Between April 2016 and April 2017, 40 council tax challenges were made, of which 20 saw a reduction. To challenge your banding contact:

Valuation Office Agency
Palting House
Trinity Rd
Folkestone
CT20 2TP
Kent

Stamp Duty on Tenterden properties

The purchaser's conveyancing solicitor will ensure that the SDLT is correctly calculated and is paid to HMRC. This occurs once the property sale has completed.

The buyer (rather than the seller) will have to pay stamp duty on the purchase price of the home if it exceeds £125,000.

Our post-completion conveyancing team use case management software to ensure the SDLT1 tax return is submitted to HM Revenue & Customs as quickly as possible.

See table below for SDLT examples for properties in Tenterden:

	Average selling price (2017)	Stamp Duty
Average price	£417,118	£10,855.90
Average price (detached)	£510,542	£15,527.10
Average new build	-	-

Following the autumn budget statement, second home buyers have had to pay a higher rate of 3%. E.g. if a second property was bought for £417,118 then the stamp duty including the surcharge would be £33,369.44. .

Stamp duty relief for first-time buyers in Tenterden

Since the budget announcement in November 2017, if you are a first-time buyer, you only pay stamp duty on property valued at over £300k with relief up to £500,000 in some areas.

Tenterden conveyancing solicitors should confirm their client pays the correct amount.

Buying a flat? Leasehold conveyancing in Tenterden

Purchasing a leasehold house or flat if you are unaware of the facts can be fraught with risk. The many potential complications lying in wait for the unsuspecting buyer include sinking fund issues, spiralling ground rents and unreasonable lease extension premiums.

Severe consequences can result from a less-experienced lawyer's inaccurate leasehold advice.

A experienced conveyancing solicitor in Tenterden will consider possible leasehold issues, e.g. :

• reviewing the lease itself
• service charge records from the last three years
• reviewing correspondence between the freeholder and leaseholder
• share of freehold complexity

Make sure that you are fully-informed regarding your planned purchase - Contact our team of leasehold conveyancing solicitors on 0800 612 0377.

Buying a 'New Build' property in Tenterden?

Based on local data compiled by the HM Land Registry, the average price for new build homes in Tenterden is -. - new build houses and flats -.

A new-build conveyancing solicitor in Tenterden needs to be conscious of Tenterden-specific factors and the added complexities of new build, such as ensuring new estate roads are adopted, dealing with lender conditions and working with warranty providers such as NHBC, Zurich Municipal and ACHI/Vantage.

Our award-winning team of conveyancers specialise in meeting short developer deadlines and new build purchases.

Conservation areas in Kent

If you are buying a property in a conservation area in Tenterden, the property must be compliant with any local conservation area conditions. These building controls, called Article 4 Directions, can include:

• Restrictions on the removal of front boundary walls, railings or fences
• Restrictions on the addition of flues and soil vent pipes
• Limits on the installation of VELUX windows

The local council can order any non-compliant alterations to a property to be changed or removed.

Parts of Tenterden are within a conservation area governed by the Ashford local planning authority (LPA). Your Quittance conveyancing solicitor will confirm if the property you are purchasing is located in a conservation area in Tenterden.

Conveyancing - Remortgaging a property in Tenterden

Benefitting from a lower interest rate to reduce monthly expenses is primarily why people change lenders. There are other reasons, for example consolidating debts, or moving from a standard variable rate (SVR) to a fixed-rate.

A good conveyancing solicitor in Tenterden can reduce the remortgage processing time, meaning you move to your lower rate sooner. With the base rate now at 0.5% (May 2018) and future interest rate changes hard to predict, fast conveyancing can be a contributing factor to getting onto your new rate as quickly as possible.

It is critical that the property lawyer handling your remortgage can act on behalf of your new mortgage provider. Quittance Conveyancing are on all major UK lenders' panels. So whether you are switching to a flexible mortgage with Lloyds Bank or to a capped-rate mortgage with the Furness Building Society, we can help.