It is 10 years ago since I acquired my property in Isle of Dogs. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they could still be with the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Isle of Dogs relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
The Isle of Dogs conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in Isle of Dogs have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my previous Isle of Dogs lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT in advance. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.
Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Isle of Dogs. Conveyancing is required. What is next?
Now that you have to all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should retain a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you are facing a pending a fixed date to complete the transaction. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke legal pack. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. If you have purchased leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You must pass this on to the solicitor instructed by you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Nottingham. I assume I don't need a Isle of Dogs lawyer on the Nottingham panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Nottingham 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 Nottingham mortgage from the register. Nottingham, 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 Nottingham has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Nottingham has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I have a mortgage with Co-operative for my property in Isle of Dogs. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Co-operative?
You must advise Co-operative prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Co-operative’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Co-operative will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Co-operative directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Co-operative conveyancing panel lawyer.
My friend advised me that where I am buying in Isle of Dogs I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Isle of Dogs conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Isle of Dogs around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Isle of Dogs Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Isle of Dogs.
Do I need to be wary by estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Isle of Dogs conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many professional services, often suggestions from family and friends can be most helpful. Nevertheless there are many players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all suggest lawyers to choose. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there may be a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are free to select your own lawyer. You need to be aware that most lenders specify a panel list of lawyers you must use for the lender aspect of your transaction.
I am one month into a leasehold purchase having been referred to conveyancers by the estate agent to handle our conveyancing in Isle of Dogs. I am am extremely dissatisfied with the quality of service. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A conveyancer would need to be very poor to suggest replacing them. Has the loan offer been sent? If so you need to make them aware of the new contact details and have the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the lenders panel to avoid escalating charges and delays. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. Our find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Isle of Dogs