My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Brighouse and Rastrick with Virgin Money. We have a son 19 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 flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 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 Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is removed from the Bank of Ireland Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Brighouse and Rastrick?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
My colleague advised me that if I am purchasing in Brighouse and Rastrick I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Brighouse and Rastrick conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Brighouse and Rastrick around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Brighouse and Rastrick.
How does conveyancing in Brighouse and Rastrick differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Brighouse and Rastrick approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because developers in Brighouse and Rastrick tend to acquire the site, 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 Brighouse and Rastrick or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Brighouse and Rastrick I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Brighouse and Rastrick in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial property in Brighouse and Rastrick and how can you help?
The 1954 Act provides security of tenure to commercial lessees, granting the legal entitlement to make a request to court for a renewal tenancy and continue in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Brighouse and Rastrick is one of our many locations in which the firms we work with have offices