Having sold my house in Knaphill last August but our buyer keeps calling every few hours to say their solicitor is waiting to hear from mylawyer. What should have happened following completion?
Post completion of your disposal your conveyancer should send the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer should also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion formalities specific conveyancing in Knaphill.
I have paid off my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Knaphill solicitor on the Santander panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Santander 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 Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, 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 Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Knaphill. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
About to purchase apartment in Knaphill. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Knaphill conveyancing practitioner is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
I have been told that property searches are the number one reason for hinderance in Knaphill house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Knaphill.
My wife and I have a semi-detached Edwardian property in Knaphill. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Platform Home Loans Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Knaphill and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
My brother has suggested that I instruct his lawyers for conveyancing in Knaphill. Should I find my own property lawyer?
No doubt it’s preferable to select a conveyancing practitioner is to get feedback from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the solicitor you're considering.
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Knaphill. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Knaphill Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? This question is helpful as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have full disclosure The best form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.