Completed the sale of my flat in Belford last March but our buyer keeps Skype messaging daily to say his lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?
Following your house sale your lawyer is committed to send the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. If applicable, your conveyancer must also evidence that the mortgage has been repaid to the purchasers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion steps peculiar conveyancing in Belford.
A friend advised me that in purchasing a property in Belford there could be various restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Belford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Belford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
is it true that all Belford solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Santander approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
The mortgage over my property is with Yorkshire BS for my property in Belford. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?
Yorkshire BS must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Yorkshire BS will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel lawyer.
five months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Belford took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
How does conveyancing in Belford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Belford approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because developers in Belford typically purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Belford or who has acted in the same development.
What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Belford conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Belford conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Belford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be helpful:
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How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
Leasehold Conveyancing in Belford - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying
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The majority of Belford leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Who is in charge of the building?
I am an executor of my recently deceased parent's Will, with a bungalow in Belford which is to be marketed. The property has never been registered at the Land Registry and I'm told that some estate agents will insist that it is in place before they will proceed. What's the mechanism for this?
In the situation you refer to it seems advisable to seek to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and certified copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.