It has come to my attention via my financial adviser that my Reigate solicitor is not on the bank Solicitor panel. How can I be certain if this is indeed the case?
You need to contact your Reigate lawyer directly. You lawyer should notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Reigate conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.
Do the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend carry out attended exchange conveyancing in Reigate?
There are a few conveyancing specialists who can conduct attended exchanges. Please call us to get a conveyancing quote and details as to availability.
How up to date is your database of Reigate solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel? Do HSBC send you an updated list?
Reigate conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the HSBC conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from HSBC directly.
I purchased my house on 14 November and the transaction details are still not on the land registry website. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Reigate expressed confidence that it would be registered in a couple of weeks. Are titles in Reigate uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Reigate registration is no faster or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timescales can differ subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry need to notify any other parties. Currently roughly 80% of such applications are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be longer hold-ups. Historically registration occurs after the buyer has moved in to the property thus an expedited registration is not always an essential issue yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor can communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Reigate I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Reigate in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Reigate. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Reigate who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Reigate conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Reigate Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? Plenty Reigate leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.