Finally the sale completed on my house in Burford last August yet the purchaser is Skype messaging daily to say her lawyer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What should have happened now that I have sold?
Following your disposal your solicitor should deliver the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer must also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements just for conveyancing in Burford.
My uncle informed me that in buying a property in Burford there may be a number of restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Burford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Burford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We are getting the release of further monies on our home loan from Kent Reliance as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our home in Burford. Are we obliged to select a high street Burford solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Kent Reliance do not ordinarily require firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
I am purchasing a property in Burford. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Coventry BS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Coventry BS your lawyer must comply with the formal requirements outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Coventry BS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Coventry BS where a lease does not satisfy these requirements. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Burford.
A colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Burford I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Burford conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Burford around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Burford Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Burford.
Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Burford. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Virgin Money. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Virgin Money to clarify?
You should review 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 Burford and other locations in 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 purchasers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Burford ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Burford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Burford especially if they are familiar with such properties in Burford.
We're FTB’s - agreed a price, yet the selling agent advised that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint their chosen conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family conveyancer who is accustomed to conveyancing in Burford
We suspect that the owner is not behind this request. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious buyer is going to damage their objectives. Try to communicate with the owners directly and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to instruct your own,trusted Burford conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn the negotiator at the agency a commission or achieve conveyancing thresholds demanded by HQ.