It is is a decade since I purchased my property in Grays. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't locate my title documents. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Grays relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
Can you help - my lawyer advises that flying freehold insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Grays?
The right level of flying freehold indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Halifax and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
Is it the case that all Grays solicitor firms on the Barclays conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the CLC.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Principality. I assume I don't need a Grays conveyancing practitioner on the Principality panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Principality mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Principality mortgage from the register. Principality, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Principality has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Principality has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Grays and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers used a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Grays. We have lived in Grays for six years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in Grays differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Grays come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in Grays typically purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Grays or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Grays is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Grays are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Grays you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Grays 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 residence.
I own a leasehold house in Grays. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Grays who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Grays conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Having spent years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Grays. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Grays flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.