I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of stalling in Birkenshaw house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Birkenshaw.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house can not be found. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Birkenshaw 10 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?

These day there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your lawyer will know precisely where to locate all the relevant documentation so you can buy or sell your property without a hitch. Where duplicates are not available, your solicitor may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against future claims on your premises.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Birkenshaw. 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 conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Birkenshaw

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Birkenshaw. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Birkenshaw who acted for me is not around. Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Birkenshaw conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Birkenshaw Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

You should want to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much easier or a lot more difficult. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with their service. Finally, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely how they are spending that money. How much is the annual service fee and ground rent?

A licensed conveyancer dealt with my conveyancing in Birkenshaw 8 years ago and was holding my deeds but has since been shut down – What can I do to retreive these?

Deeds, as such, are no longer appropriate for the majority of properties in Birkenshaw are archived digitally at Land Registry. Where you need to show ownership or are selling or refinancing your conveyancing practitioner should obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.

If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.