I am buying a garden flat in King's Cross. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in King's Cross you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in King's Cross.
We have agreed to purchase a house in King's Cross. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Coventry BS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Coventry BS your lawyer must check the conveyancing instructions set out in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Coventry BS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Coventry BS where a lease fails to comply with these requirements. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to King's Cross.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in King's Cross. I have a mortgage offer with Lloyds. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.
I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local King's Cross solicitor - who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own King's Cross surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in King's Cross. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Aldermore. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 King's Cross and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I am buying a new build apartment in King's Cross. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in King's Cross
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If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.
Given that I am about to part with 450k on a property in King's Cross I would like to have a conversation with the conveyancer concerning thehome move prior to giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?
This is something that we recommend - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the solicitor who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in King's Cross.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important person, not a case number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in King's Cross should be the figure that you end up paying.
Myself and my fiance have recently had an offer agreed on a flat and had an appointment on Wednesday with HSBC for the mortgage. They have informed me that when it comes to choosing a conveyancer that if they are not on their approved panel of lawyers then we will incur a further fee of £200. This is is due to the fact that they would then have to instruct a conveyancer to act on their behalf as well as the one we select on our behalf and we assume responsibility for their invoice. I have asked HSBC to send me with a list so I can seek quotes only from their approved conveyancers but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. What would be the best way of going about this?
You should ask HSBC what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Thereafter ask the lawyer of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on loans for HSBC historically. Where the answer to those is yes, then just double check with HSBC. Alternatively please utilise our search tool and we may be able to identify a lawyer in King's Cross on the panel for HSBC.