Our son-in-law is buying a new build apartment in Bishops Cleeve with a mortgage from Virgin Money. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
We're in Bishops Cleeve, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
I happen to be the single recipient of my late mum's estate and I have everything in my name now, including the house in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in March. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in March. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be affected by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement is principally there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.
I'm spending time looking at apartments in Bishops Cleeve and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a property lawyer appointed at this stage? I intend to finance via a home loan with Leeds Building Society.
It would be prudent to start your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the selling agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Bishops Cleeve postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with RBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Bishops Cleeve.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Bishops Cleeve. 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…’
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Bishops Cleeve in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a loan on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Bishops Cleeve to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
Last December I purchased a leasehold property in Bishops Cleeve. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Leasehold Conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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It would be prudent to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other people what they think of their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. This question is helpful as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it