I have just started taking steps with the aim of swapping over from my current residential home loan to a BTL Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage. I was told by my mortgage that I need a lawyer for this. I had a chat my former Brockenhurst conveyancing firm who dealt with the legals when I first bought the premises. The quote issued of £470 is an eye-watering amount to do this as its a refinance than a sale or purchase.
The charges are a bit high. If you you were to look around you might decrease the fees slightly by say a hundred pounds. That being said, providing that you were satisfied with the assistance the firm gave you couldlive to regret choosing an an unknown lawyer. Remember to be sure that the solicitor can also act for Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. You can utilise our search tool to choose a Brockenhurst conveyancing firm on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Brockenhurst.
My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Brockenhurst with Santander. We have a son 18 who lives with us. 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, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Santander conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Santander 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 Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander 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 Santander 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.
Should my conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Brockenhurst.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Brockenhurst. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Brockenhurst, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that may be initiated by the purchaser or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Brockenhurst. The standard information supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the vendor to find out whether the property has ever been flooded. If the property has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s conveyancers will also carry out an environmental search. This will reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be carried out.
My wife and I have a semi-detached Victorian house in Brockenhurst. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and The Mortgage Works. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Brockenhurst and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in Brockenhurst differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Brockenhurst contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because house builders in Brockenhurst tend to purchase 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Brockenhurst or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Brockenhurst. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).
Brockenhurst Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. What is the yearly service fee and ground rent? Where a Brockenhurst lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years in order to be eligible to extend the lease.