It is 10 years ago since I purchased my house in King's Cross. Conveyancing lawyers have just been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my title documents. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in King's Cross relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.
This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a 1st time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in King's Cross. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in King's Cross?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in King's Cross. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in March 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, TSB are being difficult. The King's Cross solicitor who is on the TSB conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but TSB are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do TSB have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that TSB have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why TSB may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment in King's Cross agreed to, the vendors do however have a connected purchase. The owners have placed an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in King's Cross. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS?
It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, King's Cross conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you must ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some home buyers will apply for a home loan with Yorkshire BS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their lawyer to move forward with searches.
I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in King's Cross. Now, I need the files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in King's Cross of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in King's Cross I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in King's Cross in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.
Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a King's Cross conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a King's Cross conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non King's Cross conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:
-
What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in King's Cross in the last 12 months? How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
After years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in King's Cross. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, 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 arrive at the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a King's Cross residence is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.
My intention is to purchase a ground floor maisonette in King's Cross. Conveyancing solicitor is awaiting, from the owner, building insurance schedule. Earlier today I was informed that the owner needs to forward the insurance schedule for the flat above in addition. Why would my solicitor need to review the insurance for the other flat? Is it really necessary? We have been stalled for the previous three weeks…
It is not unheard of in leasehold conveyancing in King's Cross to discover Conveyancing in King's Cross in a minority of cases reveals that the lease provides for the leasehold owners to insure their individual flats as opposed to the freeholder insuring the entire premises - which is clearly better. Do contact your property lawyer but it would appear that your lawyer is attempting to establish that the complete building is insured. Insuring a ground floor flat is no help when it comes to rebuilding after a fire if the other flat cannot be reinstated due to lack of insurance cover.