Our lawyer has identified a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Bedfont. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that he must check that the lender is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?
Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Bedfont? Is this really necessary?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the ID of the potential client they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Should you refuse to supply ID verification documents, your conveyancer can not take you on as a client.
I am selling my apartment in Bedfont. Will the lawyer need to be required to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.
The deeds to my property are lost. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Bedfont 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
As long as the title is registered the information relating to your ownership will be documented by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, identify your house and get current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I am buying my first flat in Bedfont with a loan from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it would put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Bedfont I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Bedfont suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.