We are nearing an exchange on a flat in Criccieth and my mum and dad have transferred the exchange deposit to my conveyancer. I am now told that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my conveyancer needs to make a notification to my lender. I am advised that, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the lender regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?
The conveyancer is obliged to check with mortgage company to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only disclose this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my property in Criccieth. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate my title deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could be archived with the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Criccieth involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
We wish to acquire a purpose built apartment in Criccieth with a homeloan from Barclays Direct.We would like to retain our Criccieth conveyancing solicitor but Barclays Direct says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint a Barclays Direct panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Barclays Direct use our lawyer?
Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that lawyers must be on the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barclays Direct
A relative recommended that where I am purchasing in Criccieth 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 sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Criccieth conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Criccieth around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Criccieth Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Criccieth.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Criccieth 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my options?
In today’s world there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should be aware exactly where to find all the relevant documentation so you may purchase or dispose of your house without a hitch. Where copies are not available, your solicitor can put in place insurance or indemnities against possible claims on your property.
I am looking at a couple of flats in Criccieth which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorates and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.
Criccieth Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
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Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the property for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease. Who are the managing agents? What restrictions are contained in the Criccieth Lease?