My husband and I are acquiring a brand new flat in Belper and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I don't want to prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my property in Belper. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't find my title deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Belper involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Belper. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Leeds Building Society, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Given you plan to re-mortgage then Leeds Building Society will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
We are purchasing a flat in Belper. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?
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.
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Belper what would it be?
It would be unwise to be swayed by the lowest Belper conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
I just bought a property at auction in Belper. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Having for in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you now have to hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you will have a tight deadline in which to complete the purchase. All auction property will have a corresponding legal pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer will need. If you have purchased leasehold property the conveyancing pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to leasehold premises. You must give this to the lawyer instructed by you as soon as possible. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
I have been told that property searches are a common reason for stalling in Belper house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Belper.
Last August I purchased a leasehold property in Belper. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Belper, conveyancing having been completed July 1995. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Belper with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2095
You have 69 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.