My partner and I are refinancing our penthouse in Hampstead with Santander. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. 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 document specific to the Santander conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Santander 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 Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander 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 Santander 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 own a freehold residence in Hampstead but still invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Hampstead and has limited impact for conveyancing in Hampstead but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 will be extinguished.
Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Hampstead. Conveyancing is required. What is next?
Given that you have now exchanged you will need to retain a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you will have a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the purchase. Every auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding legal set of papers. This will include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold property the conveyancing papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation relating to leasehold premises. You must give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. You also need to ensure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
I am planning to move property in April. Will my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the completion day. On a separate note, can you put forward a removal company in Hampstead. Conveyancing lawyer was organised before I stumbled across your site.
On the day of completion you can collect the keys from the selling agent however this can only be done after the previous owners conveyancers confirm to the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be passed over. Subsequently you can inform the removal men that they can start moving you in. We do not suggest a specific removal organisation but can assist you in finding a residential property solicitor in Hampstead or a legal practice that specialises in conveyancing in Hampstead.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Leeds Building Society. I assume I don't need a Hampstead property lawyer on the Leeds Building Society panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Leeds Building Society mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Leeds Building Society mortgage from the register. Leeds Building Society, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Leeds Building Society has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Leeds Building Society has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Hampstead I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hampstead suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers. A minority of Hampstead leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Hampstead conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hampstead leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand. The majority of landlords or managing agents in Hampstead levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead.
Having spent months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hampstead. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Hampstead conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hampstead flat is Raised Ground Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 16.83 and 16.43.
My in 2008. He has got wed, divorced and is now married again. He now wishes to the sell the Hampstead property. I suspect that he will just be requested to supply copies of his marriage certificates to the conveyancer but he is concerned it could hold up the sale of the property. Is it worth updating the title details for the property?
It is not absolutely necessary to update the title for the property providing you have the evidence required to demonstrate how the change of name occurred.
Any purchaser’s conveyancing practitioner will check the title entries and ask for evidence to establish the change of name for instance marriage documentation.