It is is a decade since I acquired my house in St Margarets. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by the mortgage company or they may still be with the conveyancers who acted in your purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in St Margarets relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
I know that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to take this when purchasing a property in St Margarets? or I am told that there is an ancient law that could mean that house owners residing in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for maintenance towards the chancel within the church. Is this suitable for conveyancing in St Margarets?
Unless a prior purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you may assume that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in St Margarets to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Me and my brother purchased a renovated Victorian property in St Margarets. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Alliance & Leicester . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read 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 St Margarets 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 purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. St Margarets is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in St Margarets are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside St Margarets you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St Margarets 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 property.
I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in St Margarets for my remortgage. Is it possible to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
One may see presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded telephone calls for training reasons.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in St Margarets. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in St Margarets who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?
First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a St Margarets conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in St Margarets. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a St Margarets conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Margarets flat is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.45 years.