Our nephew is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Lydiate with a mortgage from Bank of Ireland. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I am considering applying for a Co-operative mortgage for purchase of a new build (under development) in Lydiate with 65 per cent LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Co-operative ?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Co-operative will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
I am the sole beneficiary of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name now, including the house in Lydiate. The Lydiate property was put into my name in April. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership will be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in April. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be impacted by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this clause principally exists to pick up on subsales or the quick reselling of properties.
My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Barclays as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Lydiate. Do we need to choose a high street Lydiate solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Barclays do not ordinarily appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Barclays conveyancing panel.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with HSBC. I assume I don't need a Lydiate lawyer on the HSBC panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your HSBC mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the HSBC mortgage from the register. HSBC, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where HSBC has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- HSBC has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Lydiate I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Lydiate for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Should I be wary about estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm rather than a local Lydiate conveyancing company?
As with lots of professional services, often input from connections can be worth their weight in gold. But there are many parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all put forward solicitors to choose. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to select your preferred conveyancer. Don't forget that some banks specify a panel list of law firms you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your house move.
Am I better off to instruct a Lydiate conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can carry out the legal formalities however they are based 300kilometers away.
The benefit of a high street Lydiate conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to execute paperwork, deliver your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Lydiate conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.