I was told yesterday by my financial adviser that my Much Wenlock property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?
The first thing you need to do is to call your Much Wenlock lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to inform you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your lender.
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Much Wenlock. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Leeds Building Society, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you plan to refinance then Leeds Building Society will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
I happen to be the sole recipient of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Much Wenlock. The Much Wenlock property was put into my name in December. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. Some lenders would take a sensible view as this clause chiefly exists to identify subsales or the flipping of properties.
Does a directory service exist listing Co-operative panel solicitors in Much Wenlock on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few banks make their panel listings available online. If you are seeking to appoint a Much Wenlock lawyer on the Co-operative please make the most of our facility.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Much Wenlock. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Much Wenlock 5 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be documented by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Much Wenlock is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Much Wenlock are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Much Wenlock you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Much Wenlock may decide 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 property.