The housing market in Dorking is hotting up. What can I do to quicken up the conveyancing process?

First, If the seller is applying pressure to complete it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will make use of local contacts and knowledge. It is possible that they may have handled previoushouses in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Dorking conveyancing firm. Second, ensure that the lawyer is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is understood that just under twenty per cent of Dorking conveyancing transactions are frustrated or jeopardised after discovering a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. This can often result in the legal transfer of property being delayed by as much as three weeks. It is understood that this issue impacts approximately one hundred thousand home moves annually. Most Dorking conveyancing firms can not represent certain lenders so do check as early as possible.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Dorking. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Dorking

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. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Dorking is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?

Flying freeholds in Dorking are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Dorking you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Dorking may determine 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 premises.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Dorking. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Dorking who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Dorking conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Dorking - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy control and even though a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is coming up to be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the service costs or require a one off invoice. Many Dorking leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the landlord. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.

I bought a property in Dorking last 28/10/2024 and to date it is still not registered with the Land Registry. It was part of a new estate and my solicitor told me that it can take 12 months to register. I have contacted HM Land Registry directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Should I be concerned?

get in touch with your conveyancing practitioner - if you are not getting sensible responses, find out about their internal complaints protocol and amplify your problem to a Complaints Manager. Registrations for Dorking conveyancing are not known to be particularly slow.