My partner and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Harrold with Co-operative. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Co-operative 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 Co-operative. This is solely used to protect Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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 a dozen years since I acquired my property in Harrold. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Harrold relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Harrold. Conveyancing is necessary. What happens now?
Now that you are exchanged you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you will have a pending deadline in which to complete the deal. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke auction set of papers. This will likely include most,if not all of the paperwork that your conveyancer requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the legal papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork relating to leasehold premises. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that you have funds organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do Harrold property lawyers have to pay an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I have paid off my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a Harrold conveyancer on the Bank of Ireland panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, 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 Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Harrold.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Harrold. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Harrold, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in Harrold. The standard information sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual question of the seller to find out whether the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer may issue a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect answer. A buyer’s conveyancers should also conduct an environmental search. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be made.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Harrold. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Harrold
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Please supply a car parking plan. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harrold with the purpose of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harrold can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ representatives. A minority of Harrold leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 purchasers or their lawyers. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Harrold state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Harrold, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Harrold with a long lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2085
With 60 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.