My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Addington. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you plan to refinance then Nationwide will require that you use a conveyancer on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I am purchasing a terrace house in Addington. Our aim is to convert the garage to an office at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to ascertain if these works are prohibited?
Your conveyancer should check the registered title as conveyancing in Addington can occasionally identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict certain changes or require the consent of another owner. Some works require local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
When it comes to lenders such as Nottingham, do Addington lawyers have to pay an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We previously chose conveyancing lawyers with offices in Addington on the Skipton solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate fee for dealing with the Skipton mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Skipton?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer may charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Skipton but by your Addington solicitor. Numerous firms on the Skipton panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of delay in Addington house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Addington.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business offices in Addington and how can your lawyers assist?
The 1954 Act provides protection to commercial tenants, granting the right to make a request to court for a new lease and remain in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act to your advantage and help with commercial conveyancing in Addington
I am 3 weeks into a residential purchase having been directed to a firm by the selling agent to perform conveyancing in Addington. We are not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?
They would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage been generated? If so you must inform them of the replacement solicitor and have the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the lenders approved list to avoid added fees and complications. So that should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our find a solicitor tool will help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Addington
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Addington where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Addington conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Addington. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Addington conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Addington residence is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76.75 and 88.83.