Our son-in-law is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Colney Hatch with a home loan from Barclays. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barclays conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My uncle passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Colney Hatch. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Kent Reliance, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?
Where you plan to refinance then Kent Reliance will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Kent Reliance mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
is it true that all Colney Hatch solicitor firms on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Bank of Ireland approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be overseen by the CLC.
My wife and I are in the throws of looking at houses in Colney Hatch and I am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with Nottingham.
You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the selling agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Nottingham, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Colney Hatch off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Aldermore. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.
A relative advised me that where I am purchasing in Colney Hatch I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Colney Hatch conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Colney Hatch around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Colney Hatch Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Colney Hatch.
My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Colney Hatch. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Chelsea Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Chelsea Building Society to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Colney Hatch and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
I am one month into a residential purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Colney Hatch. I am am starting to be disappointed with the level of service. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
A lawyer would have to be very bad in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage been issued? If so you need to inform them of the new contact details and get the offer are re-sent. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid supplemental expenses and delays. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Colney Hatch