My wife and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Milton Keynes with Virgin Money. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose 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, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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're in Milton Keynes, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Nottingham , and our solicitor is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the process as FTB of a garden flat in Milton Keynes. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Milton Keynes?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.
Can you point me to a directory of UBS panel solicitors in Milton Keynes on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings viewable on the web. If you are looking for a Milton Keynes solicitor on the UBS please make the most of our tool.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Milton Keynes. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Not long after, the conveyancer contacted me to say that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
How does conveyancing in Milton Keynes differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Milton Keynes come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because builders in Milton Keynes typically acquire the real estate, 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 Milton Keynes or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Milton Keynes I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Milton Keynes in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a mortgage that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to 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 consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in Milton Keynes for my sale. Can I check a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?
You may read documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could monitor call for training purposes.