My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Crouch End with Clydesdale. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Yorkshire BS. Crouch End conveyancing lawyers were instructed. How long does it take for Yorkshire BS to send the offer to the property lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Yorkshire BS completed the valuation? Have you informed Yorkshire BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
The mortgage over my property is with TSB for my property in Crouch End. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform TSB?
You must advise TSB before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. It may be that TSB will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact TSB directly. You need not do this via a TSB conveyancing panel lawyer.
The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Crouch End. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
It has been 4 months since my purchase conveyancing in Crouch End completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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.
How does conveyancing in Crouch End differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Crouch End contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Crouch End typically buy 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 Crouch End or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crouch End with the aim of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crouch End can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Crouch End state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Crouch End home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Crouch End. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Crouch End flat is Flat 2A 19 Shepherds Hill in June 2014. The tribunal concluded in accordance with section 48 and schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act (the 1993 Act) that the premium payable in respect of the grant of a new lease for the Flat be £24,303 (twenty four thousand three hundred and three pounds) This case affected 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 67.85 years.
We have instructed a Crouch End conveyancing solicitor for our home move (first time buyers) and have spotted in the engagement letter that they are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Am I right to be worried or is that usually the case with conveyancing practitioner?
We can't see why they should be. Most solicitor don't lend money. They will be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who set strict obligations in relation to monies deposited by them.