My grandfather passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Townhill. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to RBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you intend to re-mortgage then RBS will require that you use a conveyancer on the RBS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your RBS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the RBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Are all Townhill Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel?
It is true that some banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is 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 remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Townhill. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily 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, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by HSBC. Is it usual for HSBC to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Townhill is approved on their conveyancing panel? HSBC have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for HSBC to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Should my solicitor be raising questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Townhill.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Townhill. Plenty of people will acquire a property in Townhill, completely 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 obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Townhill. The standard property information forms sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer may bring a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate response. The purchaser’s lawyers should also commission an enviro report. This should reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Townhill before appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to give a loan on this type of house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Nationwide. If you call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Townhill. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Townhill to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
In searching the world wide web for the term cheap conveyancing in Townhill it reveals many conveyancersin the area. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancing solicitor for my move?
The best way of choosing a suitable conveyancer is via personal recommendation, so ask friends and family who have purchased a property in Townhill or a reputable estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in Townhill vary, so it's sensible to request a minimum of three fee calculations from varying types of conveyancers. Dont forget to clarify that the fees are fixed.
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Townhill where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Townhill conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Townhill, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Townhill with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079
With just 53 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.