The Upminster conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Upminster have without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a firm on the HSBC conveyancing panel and my preferred Upminster lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the HSBC conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to help.
A friend advised me that if I am buying in Upminster I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Upminster conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Upminster around the property and the people living there. It includes 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 details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Upminster.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Upminster. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Nationwide Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Nationwide Building Society to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Upminster and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Upminster before instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not grant a mortgage on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Upminster. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Last December I purchased a leasehold flat in Upminster. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Upminster conveyancing firm to help?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Upminster flat is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.5 years.
How does one as executor remove a deceased person's name from the title deeds for a house in Upminster?
If a Upminster property is co-owned and one of the owners passes away, the name will not automatically be removed from the Land Registry title. It is not necessary to remove their name as in the event of a sale your lawyer would simply be asked to evidence why the other proprietor is missing from the transfer, such as the probate documents.
With the aim of making things smoother for the sale of the property you may apply to have the deceased name erased from the title by applying to HMLR with proof of the death. There is no fee from the Registry for this service.