My partner and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Knottingley with Skipton. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton 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 Skipton 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 are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to instruct their panel conveyancer as I would much rather use a local conveyancing solicitor in Knottingley?
You should check but the the likelihood is that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers should you accept the "fee-free" incentive. Call the mortgage company to see if they offer you a cash alternative. In the past a few mortgage companies offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Knottingley.
When it comes to lenders such as TSB, do Knottingley conveyancers face a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We expect to receive a AIP from Skipton this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Skipton recommend any Knottingley solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Knottingley solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Skipton conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Skipton through the process.
Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Knottingley solicitor - who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Clydesdale will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Clydesdale 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Knottingley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
Do I need to pay for insurance to cover chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in Knottingley?
Unless a previous purchase of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you can assume that lawyers handling conveyancing in Knottingley to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Knottingley?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Knottingley. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I work for a busy estate agency in Knottingley where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Knottingley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I acquired a ground floor flat in Knottingley, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Knottingley with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088
With only 63 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.