Our conveyancer has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Windsor. The other side have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Windsor even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example if I want to acquire an office in Windsor with a mortgage from Nationwide Building Society?
Our search tool is primarily there to locate residential conveyancing solicitors in Windsor but we have set out towards the end of this page some Windsor commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the firm directly to check if they can also act for Nationwide Building Society
I am selling my home in Windsor. Does my solicitor have to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Windsor is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Windsor are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Windsor you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Windsor may ascertain 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 need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Windsor for my house move. Is there any facility to review a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
Anyone can see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may monitor telephone calls for training requirements.
I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Windsor. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have recently had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the service charge as you normally would given that all rents and service charges should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Windsor Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying
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Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?