My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Fillongley. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to UBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you intend to refinance then UBS will insist on your using a conveyancer on the UBS 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 UBS 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 UBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
A colleague recommended that if I am buying in Fillongley I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Fillongley conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Fillongley around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Fillongley.
The deeds to my property are lost. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Fillongley 5 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be evidenced by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and order up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.
I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Fillongley both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There are plenty of short leases in Fillongley. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorates and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area.
I purchased a basement flat in Fillongley, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. 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? Equivalent flats in Fillongley with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2104
With 80 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
New build sellers have suggested I use a conveyancing practitioner and I've received a quote from them. They are nearly three hundred pounds less expensive than my local Fillongley property lawyer. Should I use them?
Builders often have lists of conveyancers who expedite matters and who know the builder's contract and conveyancing practitioner. As many developers offer an incentive to choose their approved conveyancing practitioner for this reason, any increased charges can be avoided and a developer will not put forward a conveyancing warehouse and run the risk of having the transaction stall when they want exchange in 28 days. A counter-argument for not agreeing to use the recommended conveyancer is that they may be unwilling to fight for your interests at the risk of upsetting the housebuilder. If you worry that this may be the situation you should stick with your high street Fillongley conveyancing practitioner.