My wife and I are downsizing from our home in Paddington and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any high street Paddington lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using an online conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Paddington. We have lived in Paddington for three years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You must 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)
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Paddington?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Paddington. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Paddington is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Paddington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Paddington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Paddington may ascertain 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 premises.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous property agents in Paddington to locate a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?
We refuse to make any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Paddington. I happened to stumble upon a web site which seems to have the ideal answer If there is a chance to get all formalities completed via web that would be preferable. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I own a leasehold flat in Paddington. Conveyancing was finished in last year. I have read on a number of advice forums that I should not allow the lease length fall too short. Is this correct?
Paddington leasehold properties are for a set term - often ninety nine years when they started. However many flats in Paddington were constructed or converted in the 60’s and so such leases now have under eighty years unexpired. That may seem like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies on the whole require leases to have at least 75 years unexpired to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are getting close to seventy five years. To optimize your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. Furthermore significant benefits to taking action before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease falls below 80 years the amount to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.