It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Swiss Cottage. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't locate the deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may still be with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Swiss Cottage involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.
Will our lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Swiss Cottage.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Swiss Cottage. Some people will purchase a property in Swiss Cottage, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Swiss Cottage. The standard property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the owner to determine if the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an misleading reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an environmental search. This should reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Swiss Cottage 10 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?
Gone are the days when you need to hold title deeds to evidence that you are the owner of your registered land or premises, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
I am buying a new build house in Swiss Cottage benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it will jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Swiss Cottage is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Swiss Cottage are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Swiss Cottage you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Swiss Cottage 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.
My father has recommend that I instruct his conveyancers in Swiss Cottage. Should I find my own conveyancer?
No doubt the best way to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to seek feedback from friends or family who have actually used the conveyancer you're considering.