Our god-son is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Baldock with a mortgage from Nationwide. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Should our solicitor be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Baldock.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Baldock. There are those who buy a property in Baldock, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Baldock. The standard information given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the vendor to determine if the property has historically flooded. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser could issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect response. A buyer’s lawyers may also conduct an environmental report. This should reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be carried out.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Baldock?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Baldock. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Baldock differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Baldock approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Baldock typically purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Baldock or who has acted in the same development.
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Baldock where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Baldock conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Baldock - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
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In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Baldock require leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. What is the length of the lease? Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block?
The property lawyers handling our conveyancing in Baldock has forwarded papers to review that reveal that the land is unregistered with epitome documents. Is it not the case that all property in Baldock should be registered?
Over ninety percent of property in Baldock is registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Baldock conveyancing practitioners will be able to handle this type of conveyancing but in the event that uncertainty prevails the usual proposition nowadays is for the seller’s conveyancer to deal with the registration formalities first and then deal with the transfer to the buyer - this undoubtedly cause a drawn-out home move.