It is 10 years ago since I acquired my home in Heathfield. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I can't find my title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Heathfield relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
My wife and I buying a 3 bedroom semi in Heathfield. Our aim is to an extension at the rear at the property.Will legal investigations on the property involve investigations to ascertain if these works are prohibited?
Your conveyancer should check the registered title as conveyancing in Heathfield will sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which prevent categories of works or need the permission of a 3rd party. Many extensions require local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name now, including the house in Heathfield. The Heathfield property was put into my name in November. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in November. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How practical a view lenders take of it, depend on the lender as this provision is chiefly there to identify subsales or the flipping of properties.
At last I have had an offer on a maisonette in Heathfield agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Heathfield. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Nationwide?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Heathfield conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market some home buyers will apply for a home loan with Nationwide and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
My wife and I are downsizing from our property in Heathfield and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers used a web based conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Heathfield. We have lived in Heathfield for three years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
three months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Heathfield concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Heathfield benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it would put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
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.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Heathfield I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Heathfield in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.