It has come to my attention via my IFA that my Harpenden lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?
You need to call your Harpenden conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.
Our nephew is buying a house that has just been built in Harpenden with a mortgage from Yorkshire BS. His solicitor has said that there is 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 transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer 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 Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
It is a dozen years since I bought my property in Harpenden. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I can't track down the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Harpenden relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a garden flat in Harpenden. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Harpenden?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
Planning on purchasing a flat in Harpenden. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Harpenden property lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
I have instructed a Harpenden property lawyer having made sure that they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Harpenden postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Harpenden.
I am purchasing my first flat in Harpenden with a mortgage from Coventry Building Society. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it would affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML 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.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Harpenden I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Harpenden for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.