I am considering applying for a Leeds Building Society mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Knighton with 60% LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society ?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Leeds Building Society will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a Knighton lawyer on the TSB panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I currently have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Knighton. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Lloyds?
You must advise Lloyds prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Lloyds will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. You need not do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel firm.
Nottingham have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Knighton has been accepted, what are the next steps?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure the solicitors are on the bank’s panel). Telephone Nottingham or the financial adviser and finalise any outstanding documentation. Nottingham will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to schedule a time for the valuation to take place. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Nottingham will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Knighton.
My partner and I are downsizing from our home in Knighton and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Knighton. Having lived in Knighton for many years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. 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 health insurance to cover that same sickness)
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property are lost. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Knighton 5 years ago no longer exist. Will I be able to sell the house?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your ownership will be retained by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and order current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Knighton prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks will not grant a loan on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Knighton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Knighton to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I purchased a flat in Knighton last 4/8/2023 and to date it is still not registered with HMLR. It was part of a development site and my conveyancing practitioner told me that it may take 12 months to register. I have called the Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. What can I do?
It is your conveyancing practitioner that you really need to get in touch with in order to satisfy any issues which have been raised as part of the registration process for your Knighton property. Normal Knighton conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the previous owner’s conveyancer that they will help resolve any registration raised by HMLR so it may be a case of seeking to enforce that undertaking if necessary.