The Conveyancing Process For A Second Home

It is important to note that the conveyancing process for buying a second home is far more in depth than a standard house purchase. This is why we recommend that you speak to our residential conveyancers to ensure all hoops are jumped through and all regulations are met.

For example, there is The Declaration of Trust. This is required when buying a second home with a partner or business associate. The most common ways to purchase a property between you is as Joint Tenants, where the property passes automatically to the other, or as Tenants in Common where you own specific shares of the property.

When purchasing a second home a Declaration of Trust is essential. It acts like a pre-nuptial for a property. The contract will outline the capital contributions of both parties into the property. It will ensure both parties get the same percentage of capital out as they put in. It will outline the exit strategy including a Right of First Refusal clause. The maintenance disputes will also be outlined to create a legally binding framework for any work required on the property.

Environmental searches, especially for holiday homes by the sea as a second home, will be carefully considered. The sea is the biggest reason people move to the coast. However, it is also the biggest threat to your holiday home too. In addition to the standard searches that will check for contaminated land, when your second home is a holiday home on the coast we will look at Shoreline Management Plans, also known as SMPs, as well as flood risk and insurability.

If your second home is a holiday home, you may be paying for the view. However, what if that view is soon to go? We will complete planning searches on your behalf. These will look at any pending applications that could affect your view. We will also look at local development framework and the 10-year plan put into place by the council. This will help you paint a picture of the future of your second home. We will look at the Article 4 directions too. This will show what, if any, planning permission is required on the property. In some cases, full planning permission may be needed to upgrade your windows. By reviewing this we can ensure you know what to expect.

We will also check for Section 157 of the Housing Act 1985 within the title investigation work. This is where some local connection covenants stipulate that a buyer must have lived or worked in area for the last 3 years to buy a second home in the area. Finding out if this is the case early in the conveyancing process for your second home can save you from a collapsed transaction, wasted fees, stress and upset.

The conveyancing process for a second home has a lot of similarities to a standard house purchase. However, there are a lot of differences too. This is why you need the help of a professional and experienced second home conveyancer in Peterborough, like our team at Burgh Thorpe Solicitors.