This question may be naive but I am new to the home moving as a first time buyer of a garden flat in Maze Hill. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will use a local conveyancing solicitor in Maze Hill?
On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Maze Hill. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the seller's lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be called to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.
We had chosen conveyancing lawyers with offices in Maze Hill on the Skipton solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further sum for dealing with the Skipton mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Skipton?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by Skipton but by your Maze Hill property lawyer. Some firms on the Skipton panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I can not fathom if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Maze Hill bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Maze Hill conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The lawyer has to follow the CML Handbook Part 2 provisions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Maze Hill 4 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?
Assuming the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be recorded by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and order current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
How does conveyancing in Maze Hill differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Maze Hill come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because builders in Maze Hill typically purchase the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Maze Hill or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Maze Hill is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Maze Hill are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Maze Hill you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Maze Hill may ascertain 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 residence.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Maze Hill. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Maze Hill who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Maze Hill conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Following years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Maze Hill. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Maze Hill conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Maze Hill residence is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72 years.