It is a dozen years since I purchased my property in Sonning Common. Conveyancing solicitors have just been appointed on the sale but I am unable to locate my title documents. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Sonning Common relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
In looking at mumsnet.com for a high-quality solicitor in Sonning Common, most say that I must instruct a CQS kitemarked lawyer. What is CQS?
Sonning Common Conveyancing Quality Scheme law firms have achieved certification under the Law Society's Scheme (CQS) The Law Society created CQS to establish evidence of quality standards in the home buying process. CQS helps consumers to identify solicitor firms that provide a quality residential conveyancing. Sonning Common is one of locations in England and Wales in which accredited firms are located. The scheme obliges solicitors to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-certification, random audits and yearly assessments in order to maintain CQS status. It is available to solicitors and not licensed conveyancers and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Is it the case that all Sonning Common CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Principality conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Can you point me to a directory of UBS panel conveyancers in Sonning Common on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings visible on the web. If you are looking for a Sonning Common conveyancer on the UBS please use our facility.
I have paid off my mortgage with Coventry BS. I assume I don't need a Sonning Common lawyer on the Coventry BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS mortgage from the register. Coventry BS, 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 Coventry BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Coventry BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Sonning Common. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Halifax. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You need to assess 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Sonning Common and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.
What does commercial conveyancing in Sonning Common cover?
Non domestic conveyancing in Sonning Common incorporates a broad array of advice, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, 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 mortgages and the termination of tenancies.
Am I better off to instruct a Sonning Common conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? An old friend can carry out the legal formalities however her office is 200miles away.
The benefit of a high street Sonning Common conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were content that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Sonning Common conveyancing lawyer just because they are Sonning Common based.