It is is a decade since I purchased my property in Cheshunt. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the mortgage company or they may stored with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Cheshunt involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Cheshunt. Conveyancing is required. What is next?
Given that you are now legally committed yourself to purchase you must instruct a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you are facing a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the transaction. All auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding auction set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the auction papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You need to give this to the solicitor instructed by you ASAP. Do make sure that you have funds in place to complete on the on the contractual date .
I am the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Cheshunt. The Cheshunt property was put into my name in July. I want to move. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in July. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. many mortgage companies would take a pragmatic view as this obligation chiefly exists to pick up on subsales or the quick reselling of property.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Cheshunt. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. HSBC have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with HSBC your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for HSBC. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to HSBC where a lease fails to meet these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Cheshunt.
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Cheshunt and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Cheshunt conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using an internet conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Cheshunt. Having lived in Cheshunt for three years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
It has been four months since my purchase conveyancing in Cheshunt concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Last March I purchased a leasehold flat in Cheshunt. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
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).
Cheshunt Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying
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This information is useful as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure Does the lease have onerous restrictions? If a Cheshunt lease has less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.
Me and my fiance are expecting to complete on the purchase a house in Cheshunt but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have agreed reparation from the seller of £2k by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process yet my bank will not permit this. Why were they notified?
The solicitor that is on a lender conveyancing panel is required to inform the mortgage company of any amendments to the sale figure. In the event that you were to refuse your property lawyer to report the price change to your mortgage company then they would need to discontinue representing you and the mortgage company.