My wife and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Shenfield with a mortgage. We like our Shenfield solicitor, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to use one of the mortgage company panel firms or retain our Shenfield solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to require that the lender use our Shenfield solicitor ?
Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Shenfield conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I purchased a freehold house in Shenfield yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Shenfield and has limited impact for conveyancing in Shenfield 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 have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
Do I need to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a house in Shenfield?
Unless a prior purchase of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you may take it that lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Shenfield to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in Shenfield. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to 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 Shenfield and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Shenfield I like with a park and station nearby, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Shenfield suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Shenfield. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Shenfield - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Shenfield Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Does the lease include onerous restrictions? It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is pending to be shared by the tenants and will materially increase the the maintenance costs or require a one time payment.