I am considering mortgaging my house in Creigiau, does my lawyer need to be on the Skipton Conveyancing panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Skipton conveyancing panel, but Skipton would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Me and my brother have a semi-detached Georgian property in Creigiau. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Barnsley Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Creigiau and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
Taking into account that I will soon spend £400,000 on a terraced house in Creigiau I would like to have a conversation with the solicitor concerning thehouse move before appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
This is something that we recommend - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be doing your property ownership legalities in Creigiau.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a file reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in Creigiau should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
Am I better off to go with a Creigiau conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can deal with the conveyancing however his firm is located a couple of hundredmiles drive away.
The benefit of a local Creigiau conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Creigiau know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and they were happy that must trump using an unfamiliar Creigiau conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Creigiau. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, but I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as you normally would as all ground rent and service payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Creigiau - A selection of Queries before buying
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Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Creigiau ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will increase the maintenance costs? Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one time payment.
Our conveyancing solicitor in Creigiau has informed me that he requires ID documents stating that this forms part of his retainer as a solicitor on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. Is this right?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Creigiau conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the bank also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the mortgage company's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements