My partner and I intend to remortgage our flat in Bloomsbury with TSB. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the TSB conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 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 TSB 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 TSB. This is solely used to protect TSB 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 TSB 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.
Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Bloomsbury. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?
Having for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should find a conveyancing practitioner soon as you now have a pending a drop dead date to complete the property. An auction property will ordinarily have an associated auction set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the auction papers should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You must give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
My husband and I have arranged a further advance on our home loan from Yorkshire BS as we intend to conduct improvements to our house in Bloomsbury. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Bloomsbury solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Yorkshire BS do not ordinarily require firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a Bloomsbury conveyancer 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Bloomsbury surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Bloomsbury is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in Bloomsbury are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Bloomsbury you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bloomsbury 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.
Do I need to be concerned about 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending a web based conveyancing firm rather than a local Bloomsbury conveyancing firm?
As with many professional services, often recommendations from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are many players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all put forward conveyancers to choose. Sometimes the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to select your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that many lenders specify a panel list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.
Is it best to appoint a Bloomsbury conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can conduct the conveyancing but his firm is located 300kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Bloomsbury conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and they were impressed that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Bloomsbury conveyancing solicitor just because they are round the corner.
Why do I have to send my lawyer with numerous items of ID ahead of starting selling or purchasing a property in Bloomsbury?
Bloomsbury lawyers are obliged by the Law Society, Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Land Registry and current Money Laundering legislation to record that the have verified the identity of their clients. It is also sometimes a requirement of your lender where you are taking a mortgage. In addition they have to complete various forms, particularly those relating to Land Tax and need to have details such as your full names, national insurance number and date of birth.