My partner and I are looking to buy a property in Banbury and have appointed a Banbury conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Banbury lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Banbury lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am the registered owner of a freehold premises in Banbury but nevertheless charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Banbury and has limited impact for conveyancing in Banbury but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.
My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Banbury. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Coventry BS, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you plan to re-mortgage then Coventry BS will require that you use a conveyancer on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I am the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Banbury. The Banbury property was put into my name in December. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be affected by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement is principally there to pick up on subsales or the flipping of property.
My partner and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Nationwide as we intend to conduct a loft conversion to our house in Banbury. Are we obliged to choose a high street Banbury solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Nationwide do not ordinarily require firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Nationwide for my property in Banbury. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nationwide?
Your original mortgage agreement with Nationwide will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. You need not do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel firm.
I purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in Banbury. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Leeds Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Banbury and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one near me in Banbury I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Banbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.