Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Duston. Is there a reason why all Duston conveyancing practitioners are not on all mortgage company panels?
As unjust as it may seem for banks to limit who can represent them, from the public’s or lawyer’s perspective, the other side of the coin is that lenders are becoming ever more anxious and feel it crucial to protect them from mortgage fraud. As a consequence of this concern lenders are limiting their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a size that they are happy to control.
My husband and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Duston with Yorkshire BS. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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.
It is 10 years ago since I acquired my home in Duston. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down my title deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the lender or they may still be with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Duston involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
Should our conveyancer be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Duston.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Duston. Some people will purchase a house in Duston, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or by their solicitors which will figure out the risks in Duston. The standard information supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the vendor to determine if the premises has historically flooded. If the property has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a claim for damages resulting from an incorrect reply. A buyer’s lawyers should also carry out an environmental search. This will reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be carried out.
I am four weeks into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the high street agent to do our conveyancing in Duston. We are not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?
A conveyancer would need to be very poor in order to consider replacing them. Has your mortgage offer been issued? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and ensure the mortgage documents are re-sent. The conveyancer should be on the lenders approved list to avoid added charges and frustration. So that should be your starting point. Our search tool will help you find a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Duston
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Duston. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Duston, conveyancing having been completed July 1997. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Duston with an extended lease are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2104
You have 78 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.