My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Messingham and are in fact using a Messingham conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Messingham conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Messingham lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Messingham. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a major issue?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they may be archived with the solicitor who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Messingham relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in Messingham. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Nottingham Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Messingham and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
As co-executor for the estate of my uncle I am selling a house in Cardiff but reside in Messingham. My conveyancer (based 235 miles awayneeds me to execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Messingham to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Messingham
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Messingham where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Messingham conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Messingham, conveyancing formalities finalised August 2000. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Messingham with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2094
With just 70 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account 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 getting professional advice.