My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Exmouth. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you intend to re-mortgage then Nationwide will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
The deeds to my home can not be found. The lawyers who did the conveyancing in Exmouth 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?
These day there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should know exactly where to locate all the appropriate paperwork so you can buy or sell your property without a hitch. Where copies can’t be located, your solicitor can arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities against possible claims on the property.
How does conveyancing in Exmouth differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Exmouth contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because house builders in Exmouth 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Exmouth or who has acted in the same development.
Am I right to be suspicious about third parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a web based conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Exmouth conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many service providers, often recommendations from family and friends can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all put forward lawyers to use. Sometimes these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there might be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to select your own lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of lenders specify a panel list of conveyancers you must use for the mortgage aspect of your home move.
We are midway through purchasing a residence in Exmouth. Conveyancing solicitor has phoned to say the property is "Leasehold". Will this likely adversely affect our lender’s valuation?
Exmouth conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The key consideration here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the value too much.
At the other extreme, if it's, say, 50 years it is bound to have a adverse effect on the saleability, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the mortgage company. The length of lease and ground rent will be set out in the lease provided to your solicitor.