As someone not used to conveyancing in Islington what is your top tip you can impart for the legal transfer of property in Islington
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Islington or throughout North London is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, selling agent and even potentially the lender. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Islington is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the process whose responsibility is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a potential adversary may try and convince you that it is in your interests to do things their way. As an example, the selling agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your lawyer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is against your lawyers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Islington and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A high street Islington lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a nationwide conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Islington. Having lived in Islington for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You should 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 life insurance to cover that same ailment)
I have justdiscovered that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Islington for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Islington conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Islington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Islington approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Islington usually acquire the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Islington or who has acted in the same development.
I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Islington which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Islington is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Islington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Islington. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Islington property is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 80.5 years.
The conveyancers conducting our conveyancing in Islington has forwarded papers to review that show the land is unregistered with epitome documents. Why is the property not currently recorded at HMLR?
Although the vast majorities of properties in Islington are now registered with HM Land Registry there are still some that are unregistered. Any property in Islington that has been purchased since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Islington property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Many Islington conveyancing lawyers should be able to handle this type of conveyancing but in the event that uncertainty prevails the usual advice presently seems to be for the seller’s conveyancer to deal with the registration formalities first and then sell - this this chain of events will cause a prolonged transaction.