It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Cambridge. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down the deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who oversaw the 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 lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Cambridge involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Should my solicitor be raising questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Cambridge.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Cambridge. There are those who purchase a property in Cambridge, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Cambridge. The conventional set of information supplied to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the owner to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could issue a claim for damages resulting from an incorrect reply. A buyer’s solicitors may also order an enviro search. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be conducted.
I am purchasing a new build house in Cambridge with a mortgage from Halifax. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it could put at risk my loan with Halifax. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I was advised by a number of property agents in Cambridge to select a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers over and above another?
We refuse to offer any financial incentive for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Cambridge - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Cambridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
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Many Cambridge leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this charge, normally periodically accross the year. This can differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. Who manages the building? Be sure to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Cambridge leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Cambridge. If you love the flatin Cambridge however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced difficult determination.
My wife and I expecting to complete on the purchase a house in Cambridge but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have agreed recompense from the seller of £2k by way of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process however my lender will not agree to this. Should they have been notified?
Any conveyancer that is on a lender approved list is required to inform the lender of any changes to the sale price. In the event that you did not allow your property lawyer to report the reduction to your mortgage company then they would need to disinstructing themselves from acting for you and the lender.