My partner and I are refinancing our maisonette in Bow with Barclays. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 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 Barclays 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 Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays 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 Barclays 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 purchased a freehold house in Bow yet invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Bow and has limited impact for conveyancing in Bow 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 date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.
Is it correct that all Bow CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Clydesdale conveyancing list of approved practices?
It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
We had instructed conveyancers located in Bow on the Santander solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate sum for dealing with the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Santander?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer can charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Santander but by your Bow solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Santander panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
My offer on a property in Bow has been accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Bow. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with UBS started?
It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Bow conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your conveyancer is on the UBS approved list. Concerning the subsequent steps this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many purchasers would apply for a home loan with UBS and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their property lawyer to press on with searches.
I am selling our property in Bow and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Bow conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers used an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Bow. We have lived in Bow for many years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
I have been sourcing a conveyancing solicitor in Bow for my home move. Is there any facility to see a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
You can find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations started on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors record, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded telephone calls for training requirements.
I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Bow where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Bow conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Following years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bow. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Bow premises is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.