My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Gravesend. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Bank of Ireland, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Bank of Ireland will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Is it necessary to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in Gravesend?
Unless a prior acquisition of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers handling conveyancing in Gravesend to continue to suggest a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I am buying a new build house in Gravesend with a mortgage from The Mortgage Works. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it may put at risk my loan with The Mortgage Works. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
What does commercial conveyancing in Gravesend cover?
Gravesend conveyancing for business premises incorporates a broad array of advice, offered by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Gravesend where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Gravesend conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Gravesend Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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What is the name of the managing agents? It would be wise to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make life much easier or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. Plenty Gravesend leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.
What do I do if I am unhappy with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted my conveyancing in Gravesend?
Occasionally the level of service you receive is not as you expect, and unfortunately every so often matters do not go as planned. That being said there is recourse where you were unhappy with your conveyancing in Gravesend. This varies from trying to resolve matters directly with them, through to reporting a lawyer to their governing body. If things still aren’t resolved you may consider getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman.