My fiance and I are planning to acquire a property in Manchester and are in fact using a Manchester conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Birmingham Midshires have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Manchester solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Manchester solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Manchester but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Manchester and has limited impact for conveyancing in Manchester but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
My conveyancer has informed me that lack of planning permission insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Manchester?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Halifax and Virgin Money. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
My wife and I are at the point of looking at apartments in Manchester and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have my lawyer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with Barclays.
It would be sensible to instigate your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Barclays, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
I have paid off my mortgage with Kent Reliance. I assume I don't need a Manchester conveyancing practitioner on the Kent Reliance panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance mortgage from the register. Kent Reliance, 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 Kent Reliance has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Kent Reliance has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Manchester I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Manchester for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could 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 lawyer concerning this.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Manchester for my remortgage. Is it possible to see a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?
You can search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
How does one remove a deceased person's name from the title deeds for a house in Manchester?
Where a Manchester property is co-owned and one of the owners dies, their name will not immediately be removed from the Land Registry title. It is not necessary to remove their name as when it comes to a disposal you would just be required to supply proof why the other proprietor is not a party to the transfer, such as a grant of probate.
With a view to making things more straight forward for the sale of the property you may arrange to have the deceased person erased from the title register by submitting an application to HM Land Registry with proof of the death. There is no fee from the Registry for this service.