What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Southwold? Is this really necessary?

You are right in these requests have nothing to do with conveyancing in Southwold. Nowadays you will not be able to proceed with any conveyancing process without first providing proof of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence as well as a utility bill. Please note that if you are supplying your driving licence as proof of ID it must be both the paper section as well as the photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other.

Verification of your source of funds is mandated in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. You should not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your conveyancing solicitor must have this information on file. Your Southwold conveyancing lawyer will need to see evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any funds from you into their client account and they may also ask additional queries concerning the origin of monies.

Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a house in Southwold?

Unless a prior purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you may take it that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Southwold to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

My wife and I own a renovated Edwardian house in Southwold. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barclays . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to assess 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Southwold 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 lenders. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Southwold. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Southwold should include some of the following:

You should be sent a copy of the lease Rent payments - what is due and what the invoice dates are, and also know whether this is subject to change It needs to be made clear to you if the lease permits you to alter or improve aspects of the flat- you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether permission is mandated necessary The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a attic or cellar if applicable.

I own a 2 bed flat in Southwold, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Southwold with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2096

With 70 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

My partner and I are acquiring a ground floor flat in Southwold. At the time of instructing our lawyer, they said that they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. The mortgage broker called today to advise that they are not on the Virgin Money approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Should we simply find a different solicitor that is on their approved list or should we pay for dual representation, with Virgin Money selecting their own approved solicitor.

Where you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the buyer’s solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a property lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the conveyancing practitioner to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the lawyer has to satisfy. Some building societies now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your lawyer should contact Virgin Money to find out if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on Virgin Money's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Southwold lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.