My partner and I are refinancing our flat in Berkeley with Kent Reliance. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Kent Reliance had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Various web forums that I have visited warn that are the main reason for hinderance in Berkeley conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Berkeley.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Berkeley?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Berkeley. 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…’
I'm buying my first flat in Berkeley with a mortgage from TSB. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with TSB. 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.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Berkeley is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?
Flying freeholds in Berkeley are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Berkeley you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Berkeley may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Berkeley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Berkeley can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Berkeley state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. A minority of Berkeley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
Berkeley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
-
In the main the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Berkeley obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. What prohibitions are contained in the Berkeley Lease?