My lawyer has discovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Ryhall. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer says that he must ensure that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Ryhall but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Ryhall and has limited impact for conveyancing in Ryhall 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 generation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
We're in Ryhall, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Virgin Money , and our lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
A colleague recommended that if I am buying in Ryhall I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Ryhall conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Ryhall 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 type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Ryhall Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Ryhall.
I used Stirling Law several years ago for my conveyancing in Ryhall. Now, I need the files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do call 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 Ryhall of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Ryhall is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Ryhall are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Ryhall you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Ryhall 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 premises.