It is a dozen years since I purchased my house in Durham. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Will this cause complications?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be retained by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Durham relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Durham for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank Nottingham Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?
A mortgage company may insist on an approved solicitor act for it. You would be liable to meet the charges for this. Please make use of our database to find a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Durham on the Nottingham Building Society member panel.
Does a directory service exist listing RBS panel conveyancers in Durham on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings open the public online. Where you are seeking to appoint a Durham solicitor on the RBS please use our facility.
My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Principality as we want to conduct alterations to our house in Durham. Are we obliged to select a local Durham solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Principality don't usually require a member of their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Principality panel.
Nottingham have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a apartment in Durham has been accepted, now what?
The property agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (make sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Call up Nottingham or your financial adviser and finalise any relevant documentation. Nottingham will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Nottingham will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Durham.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Durham?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Durham. 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…’
How does conveyancing in Durham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Durham come to us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because builders in Durham tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Durham or who has acted in the same development.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my flat in Durham. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Durham.
I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Durham, conveyancing formalities finalised October 2006. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Durham with over 90 years remaining are worth £179,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2082
With just 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.