I was advised recently by my financial adviser that my Cookham solicitor is not on the bank Solicitor panel. How can I check?
You need to call your Cookham lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
I am selling my flat in Cookham. Does my conveyancing practitioner need to be required to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the HSBC conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently in recent years.
Should our lawyer be raising questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Cookham.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Cookham. There are those who buy a property in Cookham, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be initiated by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Cookham. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the owner to find out if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses resulting from an inaccurate reply. A purchaser’s solicitors may also conduct an environmental search. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be conducted.
I purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in Cookham. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Barclays Direct to clarify?
You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Cookham 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 mortgage companies. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Cookham is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Cookham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Cookham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cookham may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
As co-executor for the estate of my uncle I am disposing of a house in Cardiff but live in Cookham. My solicitor (approximately 300 kilometers awayhas requested that I sign a statutory declaration ahead of the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Cookham who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are located in Cookham