My partner and I swapping mortgage lender for our flat in Kirkheaton with Virgin Money. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. 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 a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.
We're in Kirkheaton, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is RBS , and our solicitor is on the RBS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Kirkheaton I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kirkheaton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months 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 and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous property agents in Kirkheaton to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your site ahead of a competitor’s?
We don’t give any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Last January I purchased a leasehold flat in Kirkheaton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 invested in buying a leasehold flat in Kirkheaton, conveyancing having been completed 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Kirkheaton with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2088
With only 63 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £16,200 and £18,600 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
I need to switch lawyers as my Kirkheaton lawyer is not on the mortgage company's panel of conveyancing solicitors. Is it advisable to appoint a new law firm?
If you haven't yet appointed a solicitor to do anything for you and at this stage simply received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Kirkheaton that you're thinking of instructing.