Me and my partner are soon to complete buying a property in Barnard Castle but as a result of wreckage from a small fire at the property I have was able negotiate compensation from the seller in the sum of three thousand pounds by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however Co-operative are not allowing this. Should they have been approached?
Your lawyer being on a Co-operative conveyancing panel is obliged to disclose to Co-operative of any amendments to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyer to report the price change to Co-operative then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Co-operative and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Barnard Castle.
It is is a decade since I acquired my property in Barnard Castle. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down my title deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may be archived with the lawyers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Barnard Castle relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
My friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Barnard Castle I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Barnard Castle conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Barnard Castle around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Barnard Castle Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Barnard Castle.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one close by in Barnard Castle I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Barnard Castle for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.
Is it best to instruct a Barnard Castle conveyancing lawyer based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can deal with the conveyancing but his firm is located approximately 350kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a local Barnard Castle conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Barnard Castle know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and they were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Barnard Castle conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Barnard Castle based.
We are in the process of purchasing a apartment in Barnard Castle. Could our conveyancing practitioner keep our transaction price private from the likes of Rightmove. Is this possible and how?
The Land Registry are legally obliged to reveal price paid data on a register of the title for residential properties countrywide including homes in Barnard Castle. The register of title is a public document, so the Land Registry would be breaking the law if they failed to grant access to the register.
You can make a request of the Land Registry to hide the amount paid data however the response will be in the negative.