My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Chatham. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you plan to re-mortgage then Santander will require that you use a conveyancer on the Santander conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Santander conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I am purchasing a end of terrace house in Chatham. Our aim is to carry out an extension to the side at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve enquiries to see if these works were previously refused?
Your conveyancer should check the registered title as conveyancing in Chatham will on occasion identify restrictions in the title documents which restrict categories of works or require the consent of a 3rd party. Many works call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
Can you point me to a directory of Leeds Building Society panel solicitors in Chatham on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of mortgage companies make their panel listings open the public on the web. If you are looking for a Chatham solicitor on the Leeds Building Society please use our facility.
How can we tell if a Chatham conveyancing solicitor on the Clydesdale panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Chatham getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the solicitor conducting your transaction.
Various online forums that I have frequented warn that are a common reason for obstruction in Chatham house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Chatham.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Chatham in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to issue a loan on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Chatham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Chatham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Chatham. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Chatham - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
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How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? It would be prudent to enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Chatham. If you love the propertyin Chatham yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very difficult choice.
Can I discover who owns a property in Chatham?
As long as the property is registered with HM Land Registry, and you have the information of the address of the premises, you should be able to see results from the the Land Registry of the recorded owner for a fee.