My husband and I changing mortgage lender for our apartment in Bewdley with HSBC. 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 flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the HSBC conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 HSBC. This is solely used to protect HSBC 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 HSBC 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.
I own a freehold premises in Bewdley but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Bewdley and has limited impact for conveyancing in Bewdley but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.
My husband and I decided to purchase a newly converted apartment in Bewdley with a residential mortgage from Santander.We like our Bewdley conveyancing lawyer but Santander says her practice is not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Santander panel solicitor or keep our local solicitor and pay for a Santander panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Santander
How does conveyancing in Bewdley differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Bewdley approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Bewdley usually buy the land, 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 used to new build conveyancing in Bewdley or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Bewdley I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Bewdley suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
Is it simple use the search facility to choose a conveyancing lawyer in Bewdley on the panel for my bank?
Step one is to choose a lender such as Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland or Nottingham Building Society then choose your location for instance Bewdley. Conveyancing firms in Bewdley and further afield will then be shown.