Our conveyancer has discovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying in Bourton on the Water. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that he must ensure that the bank is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my house in Bourton on the Water. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Bourton on the Water relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Bourton on the Water. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Given that you have now to all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you must choose a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you are facing a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the deal. Every auction property will have an associated legal pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the paperwork that your lawyer requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the legal papers may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to leasehold premises. You must give this to the conveyancer working for you at the earliest opportunity. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete on the date specified in the contract.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a 1st time buyer of a ground floor flat in Bourton on the Water. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Bourton on the Water?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Bourton on the Water. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.
I am the sole beneficiary of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Bourton on the Water. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in August. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in August. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The CML handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be caught by that. Most banks would take a sensible view as this clause chiefly exists to pick up on subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
We are purchasing a house and the lawyer has mentioned Chancel Repair to which the property may be liable as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Bourton on the Water
Unless a previous acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you can expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Bourton on the Water to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Bourton on the Water. Now, I need my files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down 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 Bourton on the Water of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Bourton on the Water both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are plenty of short leases in Bourton on the Water. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area.
I inherited a leasehold flat in Bourton on the Water, conveyancing having been completed in 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Bourton on the Water with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095
With only 70 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.