IfI were to acquire a straightforward housein Clent mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much would I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Clent?
Any savings you would achieve will be isolated to the Clent conveyancing searches. A conveyancing practitioner still got to do everything else - money laundering, correspond with the vendors conveyancing practitioner, SDLT return, register the title etc. A slight saving might be made by not having to register a charge but it will not be meaningful.
My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Clent. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Skipton, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you plan to re-mortgage then Skipton will require that you use a conveyancer on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Skipton mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
My father pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Clent there may be a number of restrictions prohibiting external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Clent which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Clent should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Does a directory service exist listing RBS panel solicitors in Clent on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings viewable online. If you are seeking to appoint a Clent solicitor on the RBS please make the most of our facility.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Clent off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Bank of Ireland. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Clent?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Clent. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Clent I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Clent suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
We own a leasehold flat in Clent. Conveyancing was finished in five years ago. I have read on numerous consumer forums that I mustn’t let the the remaining lease term to fall too low. Is this correct?
Clent leasehold properties are for a prescribed term - often ninety nine years when they started. However a significant appartments in Clent were constructed or converted 30 or more years ago and so these leases now have less than 80 years remaining. That may seem like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions on the whole need leases to have a minimum of 75 years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching 75 years. To maximise the saleability of your property you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease is below 80 years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.