It is 10 years ago since I purchased my home in Chobham. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I can't find my deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with your lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Chobham relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
We are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Chobham with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society.We have a Chobham conveyancing lawyer but Leeds Building Society advised that he's not on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Leeds Building Society panel firm or keep our high street solicitor and pay for a Leeds Building Society panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Leeds Building Society use our lawyer?
No, not really. The loan offered to you contains terms and conditions, a common one being that conveyancers must be on the Leeds Building Society approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society
Will our lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Chobham.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Chobham. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Chobham, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the buyer or by their conveyancers which should figure out the risks in Chobham. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the owner to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may bring a compensation claim stemming from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s solicitors will also conduct an enviro search. This will indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be carried out.
About to purchase a new build apartment in Chobham. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Chobham
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Please supply a car parking plan. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.
Are there any apps to help search for a Chobham solicitor on the The Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel upto 25miles to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the search on this website. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Chobham conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Chobham conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can contact them to see whether they are on the The Royal Bank of Scotland approved list
I own a leasehold flat in Chobham. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Chobham who acted for me is not around. What should I do?
First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Chobham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Chobham - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will likely increase the maintenance costs? In the main the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Chobham ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works.