We're in Sunbury, First time buyers buying 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 solicitor 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.
I am buying a detached bungalow in Sunbury. Our aim is to carry out an extension to the side at the house.Will the conveyancing process include checks to ascertain if these alterations are permitted?
Your solicitor will check the deeds as conveyancing in Sunbury will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict categories of works or need the permission of a 3rd party. Many extensions require local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be sensible to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I am the sole recipient of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name now, including the house in Sunbury. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in May. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in May. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be impacted by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this provision is principally there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Sunbury solicitor - who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Sunbury postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Sunbury.
Will my solicitor be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Sunbury.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Sunbury. Some people will acquire a property in Sunbury, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in Sunbury. The standard property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the owner to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect reply. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also conduct an enviro report. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations should be carried out.
I purchased a renovated Victorian property in Sunbury. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. 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 Sunbury and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
Am I best advised to appoint a Sunbury conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am buying? I have an old university friend who can carry out the conveyancing however her office is 400miles away.
The benefit of a high street Sunbury conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were content that should trump using an unknown Sunbury conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Sunbury based.
My wife and I may need to rent out our Sunbury ground floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Sunbury conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?
The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Sunbury do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.
I am the proprietor of a two-bedroom flat in Sunbury. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Sunbury residence is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 82.93 years.