We were about to retain a conveyancing solicitor in Berrylands found on your site but stumbled across some other costs illustrations on the internet look less expensive – why is this?
There are many firms of conveyancing companies marketing at first sight what seems to be very low prices. You should think twice about how important this transaction is to you that want to be penny wise pound foolish in relation to the standard of the legal work. Many of them accentuate a bargain fee as a headline but plant supplemental charges in the fine print..
My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Berrylands with Bank of Ireland. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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.
My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Berrylands. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nottingham, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you intend to refinance then Nottingham will require that you use a conveyancer on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nottingham mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
How does conveyancing in Berrylands differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Berrylands contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Berrylands typically buy the site, 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Berrylands or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Berrylands is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Berrylands are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Berrylands you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Berrylands may decide 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 premises.
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Berrylands.Conveyancing has not commenced however I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as usual given that all rents and service payments will be allottedas part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially