It is 10 years ago since I purchased my house in Harleston. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the lender or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Harleston relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
We are buying a property in Harleston. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to deposit funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
My solicitor has informed me that lack of building regulations insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Harleston?
The right level of lack of building regulations indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
I can not work out if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Harleston bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Harleston conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.
Your property lawyer must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two requirements for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
How does conveyancing in Harleston differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Harleston approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because developers in Harleston typically buy the land, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 used to new build conveyancing in Harleston or who has acted in the same development.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business premises in Harleston and how can you help?
The 1954 Act provides security of tenure to business tenants, giving them the a statutory right to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Harleston is one of the many locations in which the firms we work with are based
What are the frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for Harleston properties?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Harleston. Most leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.
Harleston Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? Where a Harleston lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Harlestonlease extensions you will need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Harleston ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger works.
My conveyancer in Harleston has informed me that he requires proof of ID documents asserting that this is part of his requirements as a conveyancer on the lender Solicitor panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Harleston 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 bank's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements