My wife and I intend to remortgage our flat in Bow Street with Nationwide. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. 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 concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Nationwide conveyancing panel as he did not need 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?
First, rest assured that your Nationwide 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 Nationwide. This is solely used to protect Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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.
Will my conveyancer be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Bow Street.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Bow Street. There are those who acquire a property in Bow Street, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Bow Street. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to find out whether the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim resulting from an misleading reply. The buyer’s solicitors will also carry out an enviro report. This should disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be carried out.
I opted to have a survey done on a property in Bow Street prior to appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to give a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bow Street. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I am downsizing from my property. My former conveyancers closed down. It would be helpful to have a recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in Bow Street if that makes things easier.
Please use our search tool to help you choose a solicitor for your conveyancing in Bow Street. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with regulated solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move runs smoothly.
Last February I purchased a leasehold house in Bow Street. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. A critical element 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 Bow Street - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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This information is important as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to know about it How many years remain on the lease? For most Bow Street leaseholds the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Bow Street ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.
My conveyancers in Bow Street have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with the bank. Is it case that being on the lender conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the lender Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the lender directly.