My grandmother passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in St Luke's. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Skipton, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Given you plan to refinance then Skipton will require that you use a conveyancer on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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 Skipton mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in St Luke's. Now, I need my files but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in St Luke's of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
How does conveyancing in St Luke's differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in St Luke's approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because builders in St Luke's tend to acquire 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 used to new build conveyancing in St Luke's or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ conveyancers. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a St Luke's conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. Many freeholders or managing agents in St Luke's charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St Luke's.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a St Luke's conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a St Luke's conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Luke's residence is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.
Living abroad it is not practicable to travel my St Luke's conveyancing practitioners office to sign documents for conveyancing in St Luke's – will this be an issue?
Not a problem. St Luke's conveyancing lawyers can undertake conveyancing transactions for clients nationwide. It is not necessary for you to be able to meet your lawyer in the flesh at a St Luke's conveyancers office. They can undertake everything remotely from their St Luke's premises.