Should my solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Havant.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Havant. There are those who buy a house in Havant, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Havant. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the vendor to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the owner, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an environmental report. This should higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be carried out.
My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian house in Havant. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Chelsea Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Havant and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Havant I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Havant 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 will be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Havant for my remortgage. Is there any facility to review a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
You may see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Havant. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I inherited a 1st floor flat in Havant, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Havant with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2085
With 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
How does one as executor remove a departed person's details from the title deeds for a property in Havant?
Where a Havant property is jointly owned and one of the owners dies, the name will not immediately be removed from the Land Registry title. You are not required to remove their name as when it comes to a sale you would simply be asked to evidence why the other owner is not included in the contract, typically this is in the form of the probate documents.
With the aim of making the sale conveyancing smoother for the sale of the property you may apply to have the deceased name erased from the title by submitting an application to HM Land Registry with evidence of the death. There is no charge from the Registry for this service.