I am acquiring a house for cash in Byfleet. I have lived for the previous Seventeen years in Byfleet. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
If you not getting a home loan, then all but one or two of the Byfleet conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your lawyer will try and sway you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of encouragement . Do take into account; if you are going to sell the house at a future date, it could be of interest to your future buyer what the searches determine. There are plenty of instances where properties with functional issues can still show up negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Byfleet should provide you some practical guidance here.
It is is a decade since I bought my property in Byfleet. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Byfleet relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Byfleet. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Bank of Ireland be concerned?
Given that your lender is Bank of Ireland your lawyer must check the conveyancing instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Bank of Ireland where a lease fails to satisfy these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Byfleet.
I'm at the point of viewing houses in Byfleet and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a lawyer appointed at this point? I am planning to take a home loan with Barclays.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. As you are taking out a mortgage with Barclays, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Barclays conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I currently have a mortgage with TSB for my property in Byfleet. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform TSB?
You must advise TSB in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let 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 TSB directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a TSB conveyancing panel solicitor.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home can not be found. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Byfleet 10 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will know precisely where to find all the relevant documentation so you can buy or sell your property without any difficulty. Where duplicates can’t be located, your solicitor can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on the premises.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Byfleet I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Byfleet in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
How do I search for a Byfleet solicitor on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the tool on this page. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Byfleet conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Byfleet conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can contact them to see whether they are on the Coventry Building Society panel