Do the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend carry out auction conveyancing in Highgate?
There are a number of auction practitioners we can put you in touch with those conducting auction conveyancing. Highgate is one of hundreds of locations in which our lawyers are based.
We note that you have a search directory listing firms on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Highgate?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Highgate.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Highgate. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barnsley Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to review 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Highgate and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
I am purchasing my first flat in Highgate benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with the bank. 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.
I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Highgate I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Highgate suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
My partner and I may need to let out our Highgate garden flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Highgate conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?
Notwithstanding that your previous Highgate conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I have given up seeking a lease extension in Highgate. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
if there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Highgate premises is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 67.85 years.