It is is a decade since I purchased my home in Cranfield. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find my title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Cranfield relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
I'm the only beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Cranfield. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in October. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in October. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook obliges conveyancers 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 affected by that. Some lenders would take a practical view as this requirement primarily exists to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a Cranfield conveyancing practitioner on the Bank of Ireland panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Cranfield. I have a mortgage agreed with Yorkshire BS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Cranfield I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cranfield in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
Should I appoint a Cranfield conveyancing practitioner based in the location that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal formalities however her office is 400kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Cranfield conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Cranfield know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were happy that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Cranfield conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Cranfield based.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Cranfield where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Cranfield conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Cranfield - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? How long is the Lease? It would be sensible to enquire if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Cranfield. If you like the propertyin Cranfield but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you have a very difficult determination.
Are Cranfield conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to supply transparent conveyancing figures?
Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are set rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not to be interpreted as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, represent the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Cranfield or beyond.