I have justbeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Crook for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Crook conveyancing specialists.

I am buying a new build flat in Crook. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Crook

The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Crook in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders tend refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold home.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Crook. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Crook to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Crook. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Crook.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Crook - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What prohibitions are there in the Crook Lease? How is the lease structured? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy control and although a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Are Crook conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to supply transparent conveyancing costs?

Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are specific rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, represent the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Crook or beyond.