My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Kingsdown. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Skipton, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to re-mortgage then Skipton will require that you use a conveyancer on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Skipton mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
My solicitor has informed me that missing deeds insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Kingsdown conveyancing?
The appropriate level of missing deeds indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between National Westminster Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with RBS. Kingsdown conveyancing solicitors were appointed. How long does it take for RBS to forward the offer to the property lawyer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have RBS completed the survey? Have you advised RBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the RBS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Aldermore are being a right pain. The Kingsdown solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Aldermore are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Aldermore have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Aldermore have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Aldermore 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.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Kingsdown and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a national conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Kingsdown. We have lived in Kingsdown for three years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should enquire of 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 illness)
My wife and I have a semi-detached Georgian house in Kingsdown. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barclays . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. Is it worth asking Barclays to clarify?
You need to read 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Kingsdown and other areas of 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 buyers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in Kingsdown I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kingsdown for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
Me and my husband are first time buyers just having agreed a price on a property in Kingsdown, and are now looking to get solicitors instructed. We have used the numerous comparison based websites and the results are from all across the the UK. Is it essential to have a Kingsdown conveyancer local to your potential new home? We are happy to do all the communicating electronically, but I guess at some stage we will be required to visit the conveyancing practitioner's office to sign documents?
Generally there is no need to physically visit the office of your property lawyer, they can post any relevant contracts to you, which you can sign and send back. Many buyers and sellers prefer to instruct a locally based solicitor, but it is not a prerequisite for conveyancing in Kingsdown.