It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Stevenage. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they may still be with the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Stevenage relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
My lawyer in Stevenage is not listed on the Chelsea Building Society Solicitor Panel. Can I still retain my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the Chelsea Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your existing Stevenage solicitors but Chelsea Building Society will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall legal fees and cause frustration.
- Get a new lawyer to act in the purchase, remembering to check they are Chelsea Building Society approved.
- Persuade your Chelsea Building Society solicitor to attempt to join the Chelsea Building Society panel
I have been told that property searches are a common reason for obstruction in Stevenage conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Stevenage.
I have a 4 bedroom Edwardian property in Stevenage. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. Is it worth asking Coventry Building Society to clarify?
You should assess 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Stevenage and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.
Is it best to choose a Stevenage conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? An old friend can handle the legal formalities but his firm is located 400kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a local Stevenage conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them if necessary. Having local Stevenage know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were happy that should outweigh using an unknown Stevenage conveyancing solicitor just because they are round the corner.
Sixweeks into purchasing a residence in Stevenage. Conveyancing solicitor has called to say the property is "Leasehold". Should this impact our HSBC valuation?
Stevenage conveyancing does not ordinarily involve leasehold houses. The crucial consideration here is the unexpired lease term and the ground rent. If there are over a hundred years remaining with a nominal rent, it's virtually freehold, so it shouldn't impact the marketability too much.
At the other extreme, if it's, say, Sixty years it will have a significant effect on the value, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be stated in the lease which should be made available to your conveyancing practitioner.