Our son-in-law is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Croydon with a home loan from Leeds Building Society. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. 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 Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
We are purchasing a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Croydon who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Croydon.
My wife and I purchasing a detached bungalow in Croydon. Our aim is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will legal due diligence on the property involve enquiries to ascertain if these alterations are prohibited?
Your solicitor should check the deeds as conveyancing in Croydon will on occasion identify restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain alterations or necessitated the permission of another owner. Certain extensions call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Croydon. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £175. Soon after, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging 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 house. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Lloyds are being difficult. The Croydon solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Lloyds are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds 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 have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Croydon I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Croydon suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I want to let out my leasehold flat in Croydon. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?
Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Croydon do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.
I am the proprietor of a basement flat in Croydon. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?
if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement 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 LVT to arrive at the sum to be paid.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Croydon property is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The unexpired lease term was 98 years.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the bank conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Croydon so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Croydon.