Please help. My Stotfold lawyer is assuring me that he has toorder Stotfold conveyancing searches resulting from the fact thatthe firm are on the Santanderapproved lawyer panel. These Stotfold checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a mortgage company your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Stotfold conveyancing searches.

It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Stotfold. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't track down the deeds. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be with the lender or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Stotfold involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.

It has been 4 months since my purchase conveyancing in Stotfold took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Stotfold is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Stotfold are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Stotfold you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Stotfold may determine 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.

Last August I purchased a leasehold property in Stotfold. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stotfold - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Are there any major works anticipated that will likely increase the maintenance costs? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.