Category: Conveyancing
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Power of Attorney
A Power of attorney allows an individual to make decisions on your behalf, or act for you, if you can no longer act for yourself, or you no longer wish to make your own decisions. Reasons you may no longer wish to make your own decisions or can no longer act for yourself include: A…
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Ground Rent: Everything you Need to Know
If you own a leasehold property in England and Wales, you are probably paying rent to the freeholder or landlord of the property. This is called ‘Ground Rent’. It is a fee that is charged on leasehold properties for the land your home is standing on. Differences between freehold and leasehold properties Ground rent is…
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What is a Probate Sale
When someone dies, all their property and assets such as money, investments, and their home come together to form what is known as their “estate”. All these assets must be disposed of according to the terms of their Will if one exists and under the Rules of Intestacy if one doesn’t. People who have been…
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Your Guide to Subsidence and Underpinning
This article looks at what subsidence is, gives tips on how to spot it and your options for getting it fixed and how to avoid it in the first place. We also look at any implications for a future sale, and if purchasers should walk away from the deal. What is subsidence? Subsidence happens when…
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Mortgage Guarantee Scheme: What you need to know about the new 5% deposit mortgages
On 19th April 2021, the Government launched a new mortgage guarantee scheme designed to increase the number of buyers who have only saved a small deposit or have limited equity in an existing property. The good news is that several major lenders have joined the mortgage guarantee scheme which will provide 95% mortgages, the bad…
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How to buy a home using a Lifetime Isa
Introduced in 2017, Lifetime Isas (Lisa) were targeted towards the younger generation, offering them the dual purposes of saving to fund the purchase of their first home, and funding later life income. To encourage saving, the government offers a bonus of 25% on sums deposited up to a limit of £4,000 per tax year. In…
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What is a Flying Freehold and what are its common problems?
If you want to give your conveyancing solicitor a stomach-churning moment, all you need to do is mention the term “flying freehold”. Discovering the existence of a flying freehold strikes fear into the heart of the most experienced lawyer because without mutual rights between affected adjoining property owners, it can leave both exposed. What are…
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New “Gold Standard” Digital Identification for Property Purchases
In what has been lauded as an “exciting milestone towards a truly digital conveyancing process”, HM Land Registry (HMLR) recently announced a new procedure for remotely verifying the identity of conveyancing clients in a bid to cut down on the number of fraudulent transactions. The new Digital Identity Standard will enable individuals’ identities to be…
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New Seller’s Property Information Form – what you need to know
The old buying adage of Caveat emptor or buyer beware will only go so far when it comes to purchasing or selling residential property. There are certain things a seller must tell a potential buyer, such as any latent defects in the property’s title, if there is no way the buyer would otherwise reasonably be…
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NHBC – Homeowners gagged over poorly built new build property repairs
The Chairman of Parliament’s Housing Committee has found that before housing developers carry out repairs to new-build properties, they are forcing homeowners to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) as a condition of the repairs being done. Whilst this practice has previously been considered small-scale, recent investigations have found the contrary to be true, and are, in…
