Local Law Firm Specialising in Conveyancing and Property Law
Our Salisbury property solicitors deal with a full range of conveyancing and other property transactions for clients in the local area and further afield. And you may be surprised to hear that our property team is now over 25 strong.
We know how important buying or selling your home is and we understand that it can be a stressful time. Our property solicitors always work proactively to complete as quickly as possible. We have the experience and legal expertise to resolve problems effectively and without delay.
In the last 20 years, our team of solicitors and licensed conveyancers have helped around 10,000 people just like you move home. Call or Email Us Now for Your Fixed Fee Conveyancing Quote on Salisbury 01722 422300
The full range of services our property solicitors offer
If you need help with a Salisbury property transaction, we will be happy to hear from you. Our local property solicitors cover the full range of property transactions, including:
· Agricultural and rural property purchase and sale
· Auction purchase and sale
· Buy to let
· Equity release
· Gifting property and deeds of gift
· Lease extension
· Leasehold enfranchisement
· Lease options and purchase options
· Leasehold purchase
· Leasehold sale
· New build property purchase
· Probate sales
· Registration of unregistered land
· Remortgage
· Repossession
· Residential property purchase
· Residential property sale
· Right to buy/buying a council house
· Right to manage
· Shared ownership
· Transfer of equity
Residential property purchase
If you are buying a Salisbury property, our experienced conveyancing team will carry out searches and investigate the legal title of the property to make sure your investment is sound. We have an in-depth knowledge of both property law and the conveyancing process. This means our service will be prompt and efficient and we will manage any issues that arise to ensure they do not derail your purchase.
Our property solicitors are on the panel for all major mortgage lenders (we are on 48 mortgage panels as at April 6, 2023). That’s important, because it means that we can also represent your lender in your transaction if you are taking out a mortgage. If you were to choose a conveyancer who could not also represent your lender, they would need to instruct their own solicitor at extra expense to you.
Click here to read how our conveyancing solicitors can help you
Residential property sale
If you are selling a Salisbury property, we will make sure that contract papers are sent to your buyer’s solicitor promptly to avoid hold ups. We will keep in close contact with them to ensure matters keep moving forward and that deadlines are met.
Where necessary, our property solicitors will tie in your sale with your related purchase. We know that this can be stressful and we always do all we can to meet desired completion dates and make the process as easy as possible for you.
Buying leasehold property
If you are buying a leasehold property such as a flat, there is substantially more paperwork that will need to be provided and which we will need to examine and raise questions on. This includes the lease, buildings insurance policy, management company accounts and the amount held on account of future maintenance costs.
As well as ensuring the leasehold set-up is sound, we will also deal with issues such as serving notice of your purchase on the landlord and making sure you become a member of the management company on completion.
Selling leasehold flats and houses
It is important to provide all of the leasehold information promptly if you are selling a flat. Because of the large amount of documentation needed from the management company, this needs to be requested early on as it can often take time to compile. Our property solicitors will chase the management company for paperwork and replies to enquiries as needed to make sure your sale is not delayed.
Buy to let conveyancing
We have particular expertise in the buy to let market, and we have a specialist property investor team, acting not only in buying and selling investment property in the Salisbury area, but for clients locally and nationally and based overseas and in relation to property throughout England and Wales. If you will be buying a property in order to rent it to tenants, we can represent you in the purchase as well as advising you on issues such as buying in the name of a limited company, taking out a commercial loan, lease agreements and purchase lease options.
And our expertise in this area is recognised by the fact that we are solicitors recommended by both Progressive Property, the country’s leading property education business, and by the Buy To Let Property Facebook group. And Bonallack & Bishop senior partner, Tim Bishop, is also an active property investor and developer himself.
Click here to read more about buy to let property
Click here to read more about our specialist property investment team
Click here to find out more about purchase lease options
Probate sales
If you are dealing with the estate of someone who has died and there is a property to be sold, we can handle the probate sale on your behalf. We can also deal with estate administration, if necessary, to include applying for a Grant of Probate. This is the legal document that you will need in order to sell the property.
We know that this is likely to be a difficult time for you and we will always be sensitive to this.
Securing a Grant of Probate can be a lengthy process and we can advise you on tying this in with the property sale, which is also likely to take a number of weeks.
Click here to read more about the probate process
Gifting property and deeds of gift
Gifting property, for example to your children, can give you the chance to reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax that will be payable by your estate in the future. It is also a way of passing on your assets to the next generation.
You need to be fully aware of the tax and other implications of this course of action however, before you go ahead. We can advise you on the best course of action and how to avoid issues such as unknowingly retaining a benefit in the property, which could mean that it would still be included in the value of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.
Click here to read more about inheritance tax planning
Buying new build property
Buying a new build home requires a higher level of legal expertise than buying an older property. There will be a large amount of paperwork in respect of your plot such as complex planning consents, transfer of part of the development and agreements relating to adoption of infrastructure such as roads and drainage.
It is usually the case that a very tight deadline for exchange of contracts will be imposed by the developer. This means that it is important to use a conveyancer with extensive new build experience. At Bonallack & Bishop, our property solicitors routinely deal with new build purchases. We understand exactly what documentation should be provided and we know what enquiries to raise. Our local team regularly handle the purchase of new build homes, whether on the larger estates including Longhedge Village and St Peter’s Place, Archers Gate and Kings Gate in Amesbury as well as many of the smaller development sites in the Salisbury area.
We always work quickly to make sure that deadlines are met. If you are tying in a sale, we will ensure that this transaction is also moved along without delay.
Click here to read more about buying new build property in Salisbury
Agricultural and rural property purchase and sale
If you are buying or selling agricultural or rural property, you need to use a solicitor who specialises in this complex area of land law. Legislation is constantly changing and properties and land tend to have complicated legal titles with rights, easements and liabilities attached.
Our agricultural and rural property solicitors specialise in this type of sale and purchase, including farms, woodland, agricultural land and country properties.
Click here to read more about buying and selling agricultural and rural property
Auction purchase and sale
Buying and selling at auction has a different process from other sales and purchases. If you are considering buying at auction, we can go through the contract package in advance and advise you of any issues that you need to be aware of before you make a bid.
If you have a property that you are selling at auction, we can put together a comprehensive contract package for potential purchasers.
Contracts are exchanged once the hammer comes down and a deposit of 10% is paid at this stage. Completion will take place in 28 days’ time. We can represent you to ensure that the transfer is drafted and sent off for signature by the seller, the balance of purchase money is sent to the seller’s solicitor on time and the property registered into your name if you are buying. If you are selling, we will check the transfer document, obtain your signature and receive the balance of sale money on completion day. We will also deal with the redemption of any existing mortgage.
Our team regularly handle the review of auction packs and finalising the conveyancing following a successful auction bid for clients nationwide on a regular basis – especially property investors.
Click here to read more about the auction conveyancing process and how to prepare for buying property an auction
Click here to read more about conveyancing and the modern method of auction
Remortgaging
Remortgaging can be important for homeowners looking to save money or move to a deal that is more affordable. We know that it can be important to move quickly when remortgaging, particularly if you have been able to secure an advantageous deal.dat
You will need a solicitor to act for you in the transaction. We can also act for your lender, meaning they will not have to use a separate lawyer at extra expense to you. We always do all we can to complete a remortgage promptly so that you can move to your new payments as soon as possible.
Click here to find out more about how our remortgaging solicitors can help
Transfer of equity
If you are transferring a share in your property to someone else or a property is being transferred into your sole name, you should use a property solicitor to represent your interests and make sure that the legal side is handled correctly, to include registering the changes at HM Land Registry.
We can advise you on the implications of the transaction and make sure a legally effective transfer is carried out. This could be to add a new partner to the ownership of your home or to remove a former partner from the title deeds.
Click here to find out more about how our transfer of equity solicitors can help you
Shared ownership
Shared ownership enables people to become home owners with smaller deposits than normal and with lower mortgage outgoings. It involves buying part of a home with the other share owned by a housing association or social landlord. You will pay rent on the part of the property that you do not own and you will generally have the option to purchase this at a future e.
The shared ownership agreement will be complex and you are recommended to use a property solicitor with expertise in this area of law. Our conveyancing team regularly act for buyers of shared ownership homes and we can provide representation and advice on taking on this type of property.
Click here to read more about shared ownership and staircasing
Lease extension
If you have owned your flat for two years or more, you will usually have the right to extend the lease. A premium is payable to the landlord for the extension. Extending can be very important, as mortgage lenders become reluctant to lend against leases once they fall below 80 years remaining. This can make a property difficult to sell as you would only be able to attract cash buyers.
You can extend your lease informally if your landlord agrees or alternatively use the formal route. Whichever method you use, it is crucial to ask an experienced lease extension solicitor to deal with the legal aspects of the extension.
We can advise you of the advantages of each method. For example, the formal route requires you to follow a precise, serving notice on specified dates. It can offer more protection to a leaseholder, including by reducing the ground rent to zero.
The informal route may be quicker and cheaper, but the landlord may drive a hard bargain and there are no guarantees that you will be able to agree on the amount to be paid.
We can deal with the lease extension process on your behalf, whichever method is used, and ensure that the extension is correctly registered against your title at HM Land Registry.
And our team are genuine specialists in this niche area. We have helped approximately 10,000 people extend their leases and by their freeholds in the last 20 years – our 5 strong team is possibly the largest may specialist team of its type in the country. And we are the only solicitors recommended for lease extension and freehold purchase work by the HomeOwners Alliance, Britain’s leading campaigning organisation representing the nations homeowners.
Click here to read more about your rights and how our lease extension solicitors can help you
Leasehold enfranchisement
Alternatively, it may be open to you and your fellow flat owners to purchase the freehold of the building. This is known as leasehold enfranchisement. It can be beneficial as it gives you the opportunity to extend all of the leases without the need to pay a premium.
There is a set process that you will need to go through to exercise your right and you will also need to check that you are eligible to do so. We can advise you on eligibility and deal with your landlord’s solicitor to go through the leasehold or collective enfranchisement process. Like lease extension, this is a very niche area – and even fewer property solicitors handle enfranchisement regularly than deal with leasehold extension routinely.
Click here to read more about lease enfranchisement
Right to manage
Exercising your legal right to manage is an alternative to leasehold enfranchisement. It allows participating leaseholders to take on the management of their own block – provided certain criteria are met. And the right to manage process includes the creation and ongoing administration of a flat management company.
We can register a company for you and your fellow flat owners and deal with the landlord to exercise your right to manage. We will advise you on eligibility and ensure the correct procedure is used to make the tenants company members who can deal with the management. Our leasehold team handle these kind of niche transactions on a regular basis.
Click here to read more about how to exercise your right to manage
Right to buy/buying a council house
The government’s right to buy scheme allows some council and housing association tenants in England to purchase their homes at a discounted price.
Our property solicitors can advise you as to whether you are eligible to apply to buy your Salisbury council house or flat and, if you are, represent you in the purchase.
Click here to read more about the right to buy your council house
Equity release
If most of your money is tied up in your home, equity release can allow you to free some of this to supplement your income or for another purpose, such as helping a child with a deposit for a property of their own.
There are a variety of different schemes available and you need to be fully aware of the implications of these before agreeing to them. For this reason, it is important to use a solicitor with equity release experience who understands the different options on the market.
We regularly deal with a full range of equity release products. We can talk through your choice and make sure that you know what it means for you and your home for the future and that you are happy with the terms and conditions.
Click here to read more about equity release and how it could help you.
Repossession
If you are considering purchasing a property that has been repossessed, you need to be aware of potential complications with the property. It is sometimes the case that a home has been repossessed because it was not possible for the owner to sell it on the open market in the normal way. This could be because of structural problems, defects in the legal title, planning or local authority issues or other problems.
We understand that you may be given a short deadline by which to complete the purchase of a repossessed property. Our Salisbury conveyancers plenty of experience in dealing with this type of complex purchase quickly and with great attention to detail, making sure that you have all of the information you need to make an informed decision about whether to go ahead.
Click here to read more about repossession and the conveyancing process
Registration of unregistered land
If you own property or land that is not registered with HM Land Registry, you are strongly advised to have this registered. Unregistered land is more likely than registered land to be the subject of fraud and registering property will give it a higher level of protection.
We deal with first registrations and we can also advise you on other ways to protect property, including setting up Land Registry property alerts and registering a caution against dealing.
It is now compulsory to register property when it is sold, transferred or gifted. Dealing with registration now can speed up a future transaction as any queries can be dealt with now, avoiding the stress of trying to resolve issues during a sale.
Our Salisbury Office
Rougemont House, Rougemont Close, Salisbury,Wiltshire,SP1 1LY
Tel: Salisbury (01722) 422300
DX: 58017 Salisbury
Email: Salisbury@bishopslaw.com