It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Wolviston. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down my deeds. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they could still be with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Wolviston relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Wolviston. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to HSBC, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you plan to re-mortgage then HSBC will require that you use a conveyancer on the HSBC 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 HSBC 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 HSBC mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Wolviston 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
Assuming the title is registered the information relating to your ownership will be documented by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and secure current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.
How does conveyancing in Wolviston differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Wolviston come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because builders in Wolviston typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Wolviston or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Wolviston ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks may not issue a mortgage on this type of premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Wolviston. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Wolviston to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
Is it best to use a Wolviston conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? An old friend can execute the legal work however they are based 400kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Wolviston conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were impressed that should trump using an unfamiliar Wolviston conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Wolviston based.