I was told recently by my IFA that my Billingham lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. How can I check?
The first thing you need to do is to call your Billingham conveyancer. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
My brother and I have recently bought a house in Billingham. We have since encountered a number of issues with the house which we consider were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? What searches should? have been ordered for conveyancing in Billingham?
It is not clear from the question as to the nature of the problems and if they are relate to conveyancing in Billingham. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated during the buying process are designed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a seller answers a document referred to as a Seller’s Property Information Form. If the information proves to be inaccurate, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Billingham.
My colleague suggested that where I am buying in Billingham 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 occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Billingham conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Billingham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Billingham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Billingham.
I have a terraced Georgian house in Billingham. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Coventry Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. Is it worth asking Coventry Building Society to clarify?
You should read 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Billingham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
My husband and I are 17 days into a freehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the high street agent to carry out the conveyancing in Billingham. We are not happy. Can you help me find new conveyancers?
They would need to be very bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has your mortgage offer been generated? If so you will need to advise them of the new contact details and have the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid added expenses and frustration. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool will assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Billingham
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Billingham. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Billingham who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Billingham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Billingham - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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Where a Billingham lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Billinghamlease extensions you will need to own the property for 24 months before you are legally able to extend the lease. It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly to be shared amongst the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or require a specific invoice. Most Billingham leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the landlord. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to check as sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.