My partner and I intend to remortgage our flat in Long Buckby with Nationwide. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Nationwide conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 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 Nationwide. This is solely used to protect Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 am helping my aunt sell her house in Long Buckby. Will the conveyancing solicitor arrange an EPC or should I organise this?
Following the demise of HIPs, EPC’s became a required component of selling a house. An EPC needs to be to hand before the property is marketed. This is not as aspect of the sale process that solicitors normally organise. If you are using a Long Buckby conveyancing practitioner they might be willing to arrange energy performance certificates given their relationships with reputable local energy assessors
is it true that all Long Buckby conveyancing solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the SRA. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I can not work out if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Long Buckby bank branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Long Buckby conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they would not lend based on their published requirements. I have no idea who is right.
The property lawyer must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 conditions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I have justdiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Long Buckby for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Long Buckby conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in Long Buckby differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Long Buckby come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because new home sellers in Long Buckby usually buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Long Buckby or who has acted in the same development.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Long Buckby for my house move. Is there any facility to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?
You can find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded telephone calls for training requirements.
I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in Long Buckby. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Long Buckby.
Long Buckby Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying
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Where a Long Buckby lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Many Long Buckby leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments during the year. This may vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. Does the lease include onerous restrictions?