Ann-Marie Lock

Ann-Marie is an experienced residential property solicitor having first started working in the legal sector in 2005.

She particularly enjoys acting for first time buyers, separating couples, those whose mother-tongue is not English and clients securing equity release mortgages over their properties and self-build mortgages. This is due to the increased client contact in these matters and the time, care and attention that is required to explain the quirks of how residential property law applies in reality to these clients in order for them to navigate their way around matters and develop an understanding thereof which at first, can seem quite abstract to them.

Ann-Marie understands that conveyancing transactions are personal matters to her clients that affect their private lives and can be both conducted during and lead to emotional times for them. To Ann-Marie, her clients are not just another file and she treats all as individuals and acts with empathy for their situation no matter how complex or demanding the matter.

Notable Residential Property cases

• Matrimonial Conveyancing
  

  Acting for a husband and wife whose personal circumstances were complex. They were divorcing and selling properties but each were living in a property owned by the other. She also acted on the husband’s related purchase. She had to work in conjunction with both divorce lawyers and with the three lawyers acting on the other side on the property transactions. The houses involved in the sale were a country estate with several titles and extensive leisure facilities (stables, paddocks, tennis courts and a swimming pool) and a Kensington town house and on the purchase; a new build property on a private estate. The combined value of the properties was in excess of £10,000,000.

• Deed of Variation
  

  Drafting, agreeing and registering eight deeds of variation to similar leases of apartments within one building (a converted Victorian townhouse) to extend the lease terms and update the provisions of a lease so that they were compliant with current lenders’ requirements. This was also an opportunity to correct any errors that were in the original leases.

• Leasehold sale and purchase
  

  Acting on the acquisition of a new build leasehold apartment and car parking space that had separate leases with a total value of £1.7 million in the new development at London’s Coal Drops Yard.

  There were superior leasehold titles and numerous complex documents to consider; one of which alone was 900 pages.

• Deeds of Easements and Covenants
  

  Drafting the deeds of easement and deeds of release to change the drainage rights for two residential properties wherein a new private drainage system was installed at just one of the properties.

• First registrations
  

  Having received instructions to act on a matrimonial transfer of equity and remortgage of a property, it was found that half of the garden was adversely possessed and unregistered.

  The necessary papers were drafted and submitted to the Land Registry to register a possessory title for the land.

• Self-build mortgages
  

  Acting for clients who have secured a self-build mortgage to build their dream home and subsequently being instructed by the lender also and working to a successful completion of drawdown of the mortgage by complying with and satisfying the various (and sometimes quite lengthy) conditions the lenders attach to such mortgages.