My nephew is buying a house that has just been built in Crews Hill with a mortgage from HSBC. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the HSBC conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor 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 HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My fiance and I are purchasing a purpose built flat in Crews Hill with a loan from Virgin Money.We use our Crews Hill conveyancing practitioner but Virgin Money says his firm is not listed on their "panel". It seems we are left with little choice but to instruct a Virgin Money panel lawyer or keep our local solicitor and fork out for a Virgin Money panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Virgin Money use our lawyer?
No, not really. The loan issued to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the Virgin Money solicitor panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Virgin Money
We are purchasing a end of terrace house in Crews Hill. We would like to an extension at the rear at the house.Will the conveyancing process include enquiries to ascertain if these works are permitted?
Your property lawyer will review the registered title as conveyancing in Crews Hill can on occasion identify restrictions in the title documents which prevent categories of alterations or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Certain extensions require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Crews Hill. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A few days later, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Clydesdale panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Leeds Building Society are being pedantic. The Crews Hill solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I am buying my first flat in Crews Hill with a mortgage from Halifax. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it will adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the UK Finance website. UK Finance form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Crews Hill is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Crews Hill are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Crews Hill you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Crews Hill may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous selling agents in Crews Hill to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your site over and above alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t give any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.