My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Colchester with Virgin Money. 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 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 forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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.
My property lawyer in Colchester has never been on on the Coventry Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my prefered solicitor even though they are not on the Coventry Building Society panel?
The limited options available to you here include:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Colchester solicitors but Coventry Building Society will need to retain a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional total conveyancing charges and result in frustration.
- Get a new lawyer to to deal with the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Coventry Building Society approved.
- Try to convince your Coventry Building Society solicitor to try to join the Coventry Building Society panel
My friend suggested that where I am purchasing in Colchester I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Colchester conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Colchester around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Colchester Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Colchester Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Colchester.
3 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Colchester concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I am using a search engine for the words on line conveyancing in Colchester it brings up numerous conveyancersin the area. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable solicitor for me?
The preferential method of seeking the right conveyancer is via personal recommendation, so seek the guidance of friends and those you trust who have purchased a property in Colchester or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Colchester vary, so it's a good idea to secure a minimum of four quotes from varying types of companies. Make sure that you know that the charges are assured not to increase.
Me and my fiance are expecting to exchange buying a house in Colchester but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have agreed recompense from the current proprietors of £3k by way of a deduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process but the bank will not permit this. Why were they notified?
The conveyancing practitioner listed on a mortgage company conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform the mortgage company of any amendments to the purchase figure. If you did not allow your lawyer to disclose the price change to your mortgage company then they would need to refrain from representing you and the bank.