My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette in Battlesbridge with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Leeds Building Society had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my property in Battlesbridge. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to locate the deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they could still be with the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Battlesbridge relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
We are purchasing a flat in Battlesbridge. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we have to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Please help - my lawyer advises that absentee landlord insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Battlesbridge conveyancing?
The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between National Westminster Bank and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
We had chosen solicitors locally in Battlesbridge on the Barclays solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further amount for dealing with the Barclays mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Barclays?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Barclays but by your Battlesbridge solicitor. Some firms on the Barclays panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
I used Stirling Law several years past for my conveyancing in Battlesbridge. Now, I need the documents however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Battlesbridge of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Battlesbridge for my home move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
You may review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor call for training reasons.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Battlesbridge. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Battlesbridge who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Battlesbridge conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Battlesbridge, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Battlesbridge with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2093
With 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.