My husband and I are refinancing our flat in Leaves Green with Co-operative. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 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.
When will exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Leaves Green and do I need to be at the solicitors branch?
If you are local to our conveyancing solicitors in Leaves Green you are invited in to sign contracts. That being said, the law practices we recommend provide a nationwide conveyancing service and provide just as diligent and professional a job for you when communicating with you digitally. The signing of the contract is not the point of no return. Signing on the dotted line simply enables the conveyancer to exchange contracts when the time is right, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is is usually a five minute process, although where an extended "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Leaves Green)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of delay in Leaves Green house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Leaves Green.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Leaves Green is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Leaves Green are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Leaves Green you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Leaves Green may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Leaves Green for my sale. Is there any facility to review a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public can find published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor call for training reasons.
Two months into purchasing a property in Leaves Green. Conveyancing solicitor has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Will this likely adversely affect our Natwest valuation?
Leaves Green conveyancing does not ordinarily involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If there are over a hundred years remaining with a nominal rent, it's virtually freehold, so it’s unlikely to affect the marketability significantly.
On the flip side, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a adverse effect on the value, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be set out in the lease provided to your property lawyer.