I am buying a property without a mortgage in Coulsdon. I have lived for the last dozen years in Coulsdon. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a home loan, then the vast majority of the Coulsdon conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your lawyer will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of guidance. Do consider; if you are intend to sell the house at a future date, it could be of interest to your future purchaser what the searches determine. There are plenty of instances where houses with day to day issues can still show up unfavourable search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Coulsdon should provide you some practical advice in this regard.

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

You are right in the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Coulsdon. Nowadays you can not proceed with any conveyancing transaction without first submitting evidence of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a bank statement. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of identification it must be both the paper part and photo card part, one is not satisfactory without the other.

Verification of your source of money is mandated under Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when you are asked to produce this as your lawyer will need to have this information on file. Your Coulsdon conveyancing solicitor will require evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any funds from you into their client account and they should also ask further queries regarding the source of funds.

I have a terraced Georgian property in Coulsdon. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Coulsdon and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Coulsdon. Conveyancing and mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Coulsdon who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Coulsdon conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Coulsdon Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Best to be warned whether a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or result in a one time payment. You should want to find out as much as you can about the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other people what they think of them. In conclusion, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building?

Been reading online that Coulsdon solicitors are more expensive than licensed conveyancers in Coulsdon to use when buying a property. Am I better off using a conveyancer or a solicitor where I am buying a property in Coulsdon.

When it comes to conveyancing in Coulsdon the costs are unlikely to vary dramatically depending on whether the legal expert is a licenced conveyancer or solicitor.