Can you help? My Houghton Regis conveyancer is assuring me that he is legally obliged toconduct Houghton Regis conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Nat Westapproved lawyer panel. Is my solicitor correct?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a home loan with a lender your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your property lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Houghton Regis conveyancing searches.
My Solicitor in Houghton Regis is not listed on the Halifax Approved Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor even though they are excluded from the Halifax panel?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Houghton Regis lawyers but Halifax will need to retain a conveyancer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional total conveyancing fees and cause delays.
- Choose an alternative practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Convince your conveyancer to do everything within their powers to join the Halifax conveyancing panel
I'm purchasing my first flat in Houghton Regis with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Houghton Regis is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Houghton Regis are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Houghton Regis you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Houghton Regis may decide 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.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Houghton Regis. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Houghton Regis.
I bought a garden flat in Houghton Regis, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Houghton Regis with a long lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2101
With only 76 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
I am an executor of my recently deceased mum’s Will, with a bungalow in Houghton Regis which is to be sold. The bungalow is unregistered at HMLR and I'm told that many buyers solicitors will insist that it is done before they'll move forward. What's the mechanism for this?
In the situation that you have set out it seems advisable to seek to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and official copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.