We were about to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Little Oakley found on your site but stumbled across alternative fee calculations via the web look cheaper – how come?
There are lots of conveyancers offering at first sight what seems to be cut price. We suggest that you think long and hard about how important this transaction is to you that want to take 'cheap' risks over the quality of the legal work. Some embed extras deep into the terms of business. The solicitors that we put forward for conveyancing in Little Oakley will notbehave this way.
My wife and I are refinancing our maisonette in Little Oakley with Co-operative. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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.
I own a freehold property in Little Oakley yet invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in Little Oakley and has limited impact for conveyancing in Little Oakley but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.
Previous rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.
I am assisting my step-mother sell her flat in Little Oakley. Does the conveyancing solicitor commission an energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Packs, energy assessments was retained a required component of selling a property. An EPC should be to hand before the property is placed on the market. This is not something that solicitors ordinarily arrange. If you are using a Little Oakley conveyancing lawyer they may be able to arrange energy assessments given their contacts with long established local assessors
I currently have a mortgage with Barclays for my property in Little Oakley. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Barclays?
You must advise Barclays in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Barclays’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Barclays will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Barclays directly. You need not do this via a Barclays conveyancing panel lawyer.
I have finally had an offer on a maisonette in Little Oakley accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have placed an offer on somewhere, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Little Oakley. What should be my next step? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Santander?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Little Oakley conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must ensure that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. As to the next phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market some buyers would apply for the mortgage with Santander and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to move forward with searches.
I'm buying my first flat in Little Oakley with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not inform my solicitor about this extras as it could put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.
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 leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Little Oakley I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Little Oakley for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.