A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Kingsdown there may be various restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Kingsdown which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Kingsdown should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am the sole beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Kingsdown. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in March. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the house in March. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. How practical a view lenders take of it, depend on the lender as this clause is primarily there to pick up on subsales or the quick reselling of property.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a Kingsdown lawyer having checked that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS 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 Kingsdown 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.
A relative advised me that if I am buying in Kingsdown I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Kingsdown conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Kingsdown around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Kingsdown.
I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Kingsdown. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. 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 Kingsdown of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in Kingsdown differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Kingsdown come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Kingsdown tend to buy the land, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Kingsdown or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Kingsdown is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Kingsdown are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Kingsdown you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Kingsdown may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
What can I do to find out who is the owner of a property in Kingsdown?
Provided the premises is registered with HM Land Registry, and you have sufficient specifics of the address of the property, you will be able to see details from the HM Land Registry of the registered proprietor for a for less than a fiver.