Can you help? My Liverpool conveyancer is informing me me that he is legally obliged toconduct Liverpool conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the HSBCconveyancing panel. These Liverpool checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a home loan with a lender your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your property lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Liverpool conveyancing searches.
It is is a decade since I bought my home in Liverpool. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been retained on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Liverpool involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
Should our conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Liverpool.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Liverpool. Plenty of people will buy a house in Liverpool, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be initiated by the purchaser or by their lawyers which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Liverpool. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the seller to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading reply. The buyer’s lawyers should also order an enviro report. This should higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.
My wife and I purchased a renovated Victorian house in Liverpool. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
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 Liverpool and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
How straightforward is it to use your search facility to find a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool on the panel for my mortgage?
First pick a mortgage company such as HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society or Platform Home Loans Ltd then type in your location for instance Liverpool. Conveyancing organisations in Liverpool and across England and Wales should be shown.
My mother and father are having problems in finding their Liverpool property on the HM Land Registry online search facility. They have a vague recollection fifty years ago when they bought the bungalow there were complications regarding the address not being recognised in some systems.
The vast majority of premises in Liverpool should be revealed. Have you tried a search to simply the postcode. Ordinarily it should disclose all the premises inside that postcode. Where recorded it will be there with a title number. If they bought back in the 70’s it's conceivable it may be unregistered. The address may still be revealed but with the title number shown 'na'. In this scenario you will need to track down the original title documentation which could be with your parent’s mortgage company.