Emyr Pierce Archives - Page 11 of 14

Nov 26

Tieing in transactions all depends on timing

I have already exchanged contracts on my sale and have found a property to purchase. However I am due to complete my sale in a fortnight. Can I tie in the two transactions?

This will depend entirely on your seller and your Lender. On average a mortgage offer will take four to six weeks from application to issue, but some Lenders are more efficient than others. Provided the funds can be made available it also requires your seller to co-operate and assist you in completing quickly.

Finally, it is a question of paperwork and the legal aspects which, contrary to public opinion, can be done relatively quickly – provided all the other parties involved in the transaction work at the same pace as you and your legal advisors.

Provided the Lender expedites your mortgage application, the sellers’ solicitor is prompt with the issuing of contract papers, and your seller is happy for you to take occupation as soon as you want – then you have a chance!

Of course, if someone can lend you the money required to complete until your mortgage monies come through then you have a real chance.

Oct 22

Will private road be adopted by local council?

I bought a new-build plot on a small development in West Wales two years ago. The development is served by a private road which the builders advised would be taken over and adopted by the Local Authority in due course. What is my position?

The responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of a development road during the construction of the development remains with the developer. The danger is that in the course of development the developer could be made bankrupt, or wound up if a Limited Company.

In such circumstances the road would remain private and the responsibility for maintaining and repairing the same would pass to the individual plot owners – unless the developer had entered into a Section 38 Adoption Agreement under the Highways Act with the Local Authority, in which case the plot owners are protected and the Local Authority will take over the road once the development is completed and the road brought up to the required adoption standard.

In the meantime, the builder remains liable for its maintenance and these agreements are usually supported by a bond entered into with a bank, or insurance company, who guarantee the obligations of the builder should he go into liquidation during the course of the development.

Oct 22

Land Registry will show who owns property

My parents made tax efficient Wills five years ago involving the Severance of their Joint Tenancy. Two years ago they moved to South Wales and my father has since died. How can I find out whether they own their home as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.

Critically, if your parents owned their previous property as Tenants in Common following the Severance of their Joint Tenancy at the time of making their Wills, it is of course essential that they also own the South Wales property as Tenants in Common.

Having only recently moved, it is very easy to find out how they own the current property by inspecting the registered titles of the property by obtaining official copies of the Register from the Land Registry.

If your parents own the property as Joint Tenants then there will be no Restriction entered on the Register preventing the disposition of the property by a sole survivor of the two of them.

If the property is owned as Tenants in Common there will be a Restriction entered on the Register preventing the disposition by a sole proprietor. In other words, the surviving spouse alone is unable to sell the property as a buyer will need to obtain the receipt of two Trustees for any purchase monies.

This means that your late father’s Executor will step into your late father’s shoes and sell the property along with your mother in the event of any future sale, or if your mother chooses to continue to live at the property for some years your late father’s share will pass to his Trustees on trust for the residuary beneficiaries, usually the children.

Oct 22

Who pays post contracts exchange damage?

Having exchanged contracts on a house I am buying I now discover there are some tiles missing from the roof and in the recent heavy rain it has caused water damage to the ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Is this now my responsibility, or can I insist on the vendor getting the roof repaired and the damage made good before I move in?”

This all depends on the terms of the Sale Contract. You are entitled to purchase the property in the same condition as existed when you viewed and, in particular, on exchange of contracts. If the seller remains liable for insuring the property then he may be able to claim for the damage on his own insurance.

If the contract specifies you are responsible for insuring the building on exchange of contracts then any such insurable damage would be your responsibility. On the basis that this damage has happened since exchange of contracts – and clearly not caused by the seller – then arguably it is an insured risk and the person responsible for insuring from exchange will be responsible and will have to make a claim under the appropriate policy.

Oct 22

Should I stay silent over noisy flat for sale?

I want to sell my ground floor maisonette which suffers from dreadful noise levels from the flat above. If I don’t declare this at the time of selling, could there be any legal implications for me?

There is an obligation on all sellers to disclose all material facts which may influence a buyer when considering buying your property.

This will of course depend on the nature of certain enquiries raised by a buyer’s solicitor in the buying process, but the standard property information forms which sellers are obliged to complete will usually include an enquiry covering any nuisance experienced by, or complaints made, by the seller.

If a buyer can subsequently show that there was a long history of such nuisance or complaints then it would be very difficult for a seller to deny that it was a fundamental fact which should have been disclosed in the course of the sale.

If you are living in a flat and the noise levels from the first floor maisonette are horrendous then you should immediately draw this to the attention of the landlord. At least you can then disclose that you have done everything you can to address any nuisance – instead of just keeping quiet!

Oct 22

Tenancy in Common could pay dividends

My father and I bought our terraced house together. I had always paid the mortgage on the property which has now been fully repaid and the property will pass to me on my father’s death. However the property remains in our joint names and my father is now 87 and in poor health. Where do I stand if he has to go into a Nursing Home with all the expenses that could bring?

Should your father have to go into a Nursing Home he will be assessed as to his assets in order to establish the contribution that he will be expected to make towards his accommodation. Unfortunately the starting point will be that the property is in your joint names in which case he will be regarded as owning one-half of the property.

One way of addressing this would be to sever the Joint Tenancy and create a Tenancy in Common with you and your father entering into a Declaration of Trust whereby it is acknowledged by you both that due to the substantially greater contribution made by you towards the property, such as repaying the mortgage in full, you owned the property in unequal shares.

This would at least ensure that you secure a greater proportion of the value of the property than would otherwise be regarded as belonging to your father. It is essential that you retain all details and records of the payments that you have made in support of any such Declaration that you own a greater share than your father in the property.

Oct 22

Who owns empty house I want to buy?

I have seen a house I would really like to buy but it has been empty for years and no-one seems to know who owns it. How do I find out who owns it?

The two main sources of information are the Land Registry and the Local Authority. The Land Registry will only be able to advise you of the Registered Proprietor of the title to the property provided, of course, this property has been registered in the first place.

This will only have taken place if there has been a dealing with the title to the property since the date on which the area became an area of compulsory registration under the Land Registration Act. For example, in the case of Cardiff, this was 1974.

If there has been no dealing with the property since before that date then the title to the property will remain unregistered and there will be no “Register” from which you can identify the current owner.

The other alternative is the Local Authority. The property should be on the Local Authority’s Rating List and someone should be responsible for the payment of rates. If rates are not being paid then someone may well have applied for an exemption. I believe councils do hold a register of properties the ownership of which is genuinely unknown and it might be well worth approaching them.

Finally, try the neighbours – a substantial amount of information can often be gleaned from people living next door.

Oct 22

Holding Management Company to account

Some of my fellow tenants in an apartment block in Cardiff Bay have grown sick and tired of the poor service we receive from the Management Company. Repairs are not being done, security is poor and on top of all this we have been asked for an extra payment to finance a shortfall for last year’s expenses. What can we do?

Sadly, with the increase in residential flat developments in marina-type areas such as Cardiff Bay, there is increasing unrest and disquiet with regard to the various management regimes undertaken by large national management companies.

Legislation does allow tenants the right to manage themselves, but this area is extremely complex and will also depend to some extent on the terms of the development Leases and the manner in which the existing Managing Agents were initially appointed.

It is my experience that the large National Management Companies are reluctant to justify expenditures by producing copy receipts etc, as they have so many developments throughout the country they simply do not have the resources or time to justify their own accounts.

This can work conveniently to their advantage and the long-suffering tenant has a very hard battle on his hands to obtain the relevant information or, at the very least, secure proof that this expenditure has been properly incurred.

I would advise you seek the advice of a specialist property solicitor before you take any steps whatsoever.

Oct 22

Neighbour’s cockerel is dawn chorus menace

My neighbour has bought some chickens and a cockerel which he is keeping in the back garden. The garden of my house backs on to his garden and my house is about 50 yards away. The cockerel starts crowing at daybreak and is waking me up every morning. I have complained to the neighbour but he refuses to act. Is there anything I can do?

The remedies available to you will depend on first, whether there is a restriction in the property title documentation restricting the use of your neighbour from keeping animals other than normal domestic pets, and second, whether the Local Authority would uphold any complaint that the noise amounts to a nuisance.

The cockerel may represent a noise nuisance, although only at specific times of the day when it stretches its vocal chords. Such a noise early in the morning may well amount to a nuisance in a suburban residential area.

You should, therefore, check the documents of title to your property and the neighbour’s property to establish whether or not there are any restrictions on the keeping of certain animals. However, your more likely remedy will be via the Local Authority.