Can you help? My Houghton Regis lawyer is informing me me that she is duty bound toorder Houghton Regis conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Nat Westapproved lawyer panel. Is my conveyancer right?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a lender your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Houghton Regis conveyancing searches.
A relative recommended that if I am purchasing in Houghton Regis 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 Houghton Regis conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Houghton Regis around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Houghton Regis Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Houghton Regis Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Houghton Regis.
five months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Houghton Regis concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I'm purchasing a new build house in Houghton Regis benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about the deal as it would put at risk my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Houghton Regis is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?
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 very carefully. 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 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.
All being well we will complete the sale of our £150,000 flat in Houghton Regis next Wednesday. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Houghton Regis?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Houghton Regis conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
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Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
Where consent is required before sale in Houghton Regis
Copies of the building insurance and schedule
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I inherited a studio flat in Houghton Regis, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Houghton Regis with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2100
With just 77 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.