Our lawyer has identified a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Washington. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the bank is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Washington. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate my title documents. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your lender or they may stored with the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Washington involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
Is it necessary to take out insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a house in Washington?
Unless a previous acquisition of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you can expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Washington to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Washington is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Washington are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Washington you would need to get your solicitor to go 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 Washington 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.
We are a couple of weeks into a residential purchase having been directed to a firm by the estate agent to do our conveyancing in Washington. I am am extremely dissatisfied with the level of service. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
They would need to be very poor to suggest changing them. Has your loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the new contact details and get the mortgage documents are re-issued. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the lenders approved list to avoid supplemental fees and frustration. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. The search tool should help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Washington
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Washington. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Washington.
I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Washington, conveyancing formalities finalised September 1998. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Washington with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2081
You have 56 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 plus costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.