My apartment in Cranbrook is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Does the conveyancer have to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Cranbrook. Do I receive the keys to the premises on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Cranbrook?
On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Cranbrook. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be invited to collect the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Cranbrook. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Nationwide have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Nationwide your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nationwide. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Nationwide where a lease fails to comply with these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to Cranbrook.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Cranbrook. My financial adviser suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My partner and I are intent on selling our home in Cranbrook and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Cranbrook conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed a factory type conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Cranbrook. We have lived in Cranbrook for many years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must enquire of 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)
Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Cranbrook. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Virgin Money. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Virgin Money to clarify?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cranbrook and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Cranbrook. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cranbrook
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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. Please supply a car parking plan. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Cranbrook. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Cranbrook.
Cranbrook Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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Most Cranbrook leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Where you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This may vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive. This information is important as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have full disclosure Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the service costs?