OUP MCQs Flashcards
The owner of a freehold house, which she bought around seven years ago, now wishes to sell the property. It is a Grade II listed property. The owner is unsure as to the rules regarding an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property.
Which one of the following statements relating to an EPC is correct?
It contains recommendations about how to reduce energy use.
This rating is a key element of the information contained in an EPC, the rating is from A to G not 1 to 7.
A solicitor has been instructed by the buyer of a parcel of land. At their initial meeting, the solicitor mentions to the buyer that they will be utilising the services of the National Land Information Service (NLIS). The buyer has not heard of the NLIS before and asks for further details.
Which one of the following best describes the explanation the solicitor should give to the buyer as to the role of the NLIS?
It provides a single point of enquiry for making pre-contract searches.
This is because the NLIS brings together most of the different agencies involved in the conveyancing process, thereby enabling pre-contract searches to be undertaken via a single NLIS licensed channel rather than contacting each agency independently.
A solicitor is acting for the buyer of a house which has a registered title. The house was first registered in 2004 following a sale. The house was the subject of a further sale which was registered in 2012. The house is built on land which is near the church within a Church of England parish. There is no entry in the register as to chancel repair liability.
Which one of the following statements best describes whether the buyer’s solicitor would need to carry out a chancel repair liability search?
A chancel repair liability search should be carried out because there has been no registered transfer on sale after 12 October 2013.
This is because although there is no entry in the register and chancel repair liability no longer takes effect as an overriding interest after that date, the property remains subject to any existing liability until the next transfer on sale is registered. There is therefore a risk, at this stage of the transaction, that an application could still be made for registration of the burden of any such liability in the register and the buyer would then be bound by it if they proceed with their purchase.
A solicitor is acting for a client in the purchase of a house for £250,000 and has just received the local land charges official search certificate from the local authority. The client asks the solicitor about the extent to which the accuracy of the official search certificate can be relied upon.
Which one of the following statements best describes the position in relation to such a search certificate?
The official search certificate is guaranteed by the local authority as at the date of the local search result.
The buyer of a property intends to build a large extension at the rear, once they have completed their purchase. When they meet with their solicitor to go through the purchase documentation prior to signing the contract, the solicitor advises that there is a particular matter revealed by the local search which will need further investigation as regards the proposed extension.
Which one of the following statements best describes that particular matter?
A tree preservation order relates to a tree at the property.
A mortgage lender is intending to take repossession proceedings in respect of a property over which it has a registered charge, so that it can then sell the property. The house has a registered title and there is a sole registered proprietor. As an initial step, the lender carries out an application to HM Land Registry using Form HR3.
Which one of the following statements best describes the purpose of such an application?
To search the register as to whether any home rights notice has been registered or applied for.
This is because s56 of the Family Law Act 1996 requires a lender to serve notice of the repossession proceedings upon any person who has registered a home rights notice in the title. A search using Form HR3 enables the lender to check whether any such notice has been registered or is the subject of a pending application. The search result confers a priority period of 15 days
A buyer’s solicitor is reviewing a title and raising pre-contract enquiries for a residential property purchase. They notice a discrepancy between the property description in the title and the physical boundary.
How should the solicitor proceed?
Raise enquiries with the seller’s solicitor regarding the discrepancy.
The first thing to do is to raise enquiries and gather as much information regarding the discrepancy. This is in order to see if it can be addressed, as any boundary issue which could lead to a dispute should be avoided.
A solicitor is acting for a purchase of a large freehold property in Cheshire. The property was built at least 100 years ago and is set on 3 acres of land. The seller purchased the home 2 years ago. The solicitor has undertaken a Local Search, Water and Drainage Seach, and Environmental search.
What additional search should the solicitor undertake?
Brine Extraction Search.
If the property is located in Cheshire or Greater Manchester, a search should be sent to Groundsure requesting a Cheshire Salt Search report. This report will reveal any brine-extraction works in the locality and the presence or absence of old workings that could cause subsidence. Salt has been extracted in Cheshire since Roman times and still is today, and therefore when purchasing a property in this area this search should be undertaken.
A recently married couple are buying a new house together in their joint names. One of them has no children; the other has children from a previous marriage, to whom she would like her interest in the property to pass after her lifetime. The couple are contributing unequal amounts towards the purchase price and want their respective interests in the property to reflect those contributions.
What would be the most appropriate way for the couple to hold the legal and beneficial ownership of the property in these circumstances?
They should hold the legal estate as joint tenants but should hold the beneficial interest as tenants in common in specified shares.
The legal estate cannot be severed and held as legal tenants in common; it can only be held on a legal joint tenancy.
A solicitor is acting for the buyer of a freehold house which has a registered title. The buyer is currently living in rented accommodation and has no property to sell. They are funding the purchase partly with a mortgage loan. The seller has an existing mortgage on the house.
Which of the following statements correctly describes the normal sequence of the key steps which will be taken by the buyer’s solicitor?
Approve draft contract; receive mortgage offer; exchange contracts; prepare draft transfer.
The buyer’s solicitor will only undertake the pre-completion searches after exchange of contracts and will only pay the stamp duty land tax once the balance of the purchase price has been sent to the seller’s conveyancer and completion has taken place.
The owner of a large Grade II listed property has just sold part of his garden to a developer, who intends to build several new houses on the land. The land comprises an area of 1 hectare (10,000 square metres). The owner has owned and lived in the property as his home for over ten years. He has already used his full capital gains tax (CGT) annual allowance on the sale of other assets. He wishes to know whether the principal private residence exemption will apply to his capital gain arising from the sale.
Which of the following statements best describes the position regarding CGT on any gain made by the owner on the sale?
One half of the gain will be exempt because it relates to the area of land within the statutory limit of 0.5 hectare; the remainder will not be exempt.
A property investor owns a portfolio of properties and is selling a house which he bought as a buy-to-let nine months ago. The house has been let throughout his period of ownership. He is concerned as to whether, for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes, the principal private residence exemption will apply to the gain he will make on the sale.
Which one of the following statements best describes the position regarding CGT on the sale?
There will be CGT payable because the exemption does not apply to a buy-to-let property which has not been used by the seller as their residence.
The exemption only applies to a property which has been the only or main residence of the seller, not a third party. Residential use by the tenant(s) is not therefore sufficient to fulfil this requirement.
A firm of solicitors has just been instructed to act in a commercial property transaction. The firm has not previously acted for the client. A trainee conveyancer is assisting in the matter and as part of their development they ask their supervising partner about the position regarding complaints under the SRA Standards and Regulations (SRASR).
Which one of the following statements best describes a requirement regarding the firm’s complaints procedure?
It must be brought to the attention of the client at the time of engagement.
The provisions of the SRASR do not provide for such costs to be charged, even in circumstances where a complaint was not upheld or even justified.
The owner of a commercial property has just completed their sale of a buy to let property. The terms of the sale were originally agreed in February and contracts were exchanged in March. Completion took place in May and the transfer to the buyer was registered at HM Land Registry in June. The seller asks their solicitor to confirm the date of the disposal for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes.
Which one of the following statements best describes the deemed date of disposal for CGT purposes?
The date of exchange of contracts.
The buyer of a house has attended an initial meeting with his solicitor to confirm his instructions. At the meeting, the solicitor explains that his firm will be adopting the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol (LSCP) in relation to the transaction.
Which one of the following statements in relation to the LSCP is correct?
Its adoption does not mean compliance takes precedence over the obligation to act in the client’s best interests.
Although adoption of the LSCP is intended to promote efficiency and consistency in conveyancing transactions, it is not itself a quality accreditation scheme—that function is fulfilled by the Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
