A relative suggested that if I am buying in Soho I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Soho conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Soho around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Soho Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Soho.
The deeds to my property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Soho 10 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be held by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and secure up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Soho benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not inform my lawyer about the side-deal as it would affect my loan with Leeds Building Society. Is this normal?.
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 issue on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Soho is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Soho are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Soho you must be sure that your lawyer goes 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 Soho 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 property.
What does commercial conveyancing in Soho cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Soho covers a broad range of advice, offered by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.
We have AIP from Coventry Building Society who suggested that they will lend up to £400k. At what point do we need to appoint a practitioner for conveyancing? Soho is where we plan to move to.
It would be wise to appoint a conveyancer now requesting that they open a file for you. This will facilitate: 1) the estate agent to send out the Sales Memo to all parties 2) the seller’s conveyancer to submit the draft contract. However, do not ask your conveyancer to start searches until you receive your valuation report via Coventry Building Society and you are content to proceed.