It is a dozen years since I acquired my home in Bickley. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I can't find my title deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by the mortgage company or they could still be with the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Bickley relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
A relative suggested that where I am purchasing in Bickley I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Bickley conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Bickley 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 demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Bickley Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Bickley.
The deeds to my property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Bickley 10 years ago no longer exist. Will I be able to sell the house?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be evidenced by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and secure current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Bickley. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Bickley
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Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Bickley ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can look into this further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Bickley. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Bickley to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
Last September I purchased a leasehold flat in Bickley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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 for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Bickley conveyancing firm to assist?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bickley residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.