My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette in Bishops Waltham with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house can not be found. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Bishops Waltham 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
As long as you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be documented by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and obtain up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If 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 ordered for twenty pounds.
How does conveyancing in Bishops Waltham differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Bishops Waltham contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because developers in Bishops Waltham tend to purchase the real estate, 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 Bishops Waltham or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Bishops Waltham I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Bishops Waltham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
I have been sourcing a conveyancing practitioner in Bishops Waltham for my remortgage. Can I check a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
You can see documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
There are plenty of houses in Bishops Waltham on private lanes. My husband and I are buying such a property. What are the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a property on a private road?
Bishops Waltham conveyancing practices will be well versed in conveyancing propertieson private. Your property lawyer should investigate Land Registry data to identify any rights or responsibilities. It is possible that there is a management company (wholly owned by residents) that proprietors pay into for the upkeep of the road. Where there is one, the road should be maintained and appear better than publicly adopted.