Our grandson is buying a new build apartment in New Malden with a home loan from Coventry BS. His conveyancer 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 involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer 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 Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
It is is a decade since I purchased my home in New Malden. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down the deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who acted in your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in New Malden involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
My house in New Malden is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will the solicitor have to be required to be on the UBS conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the UBS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.
Is it correct that all New Malden CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing list of approved firms?
It is true that some banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
I currently have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in New Malden. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
Your original mortgage agreement with Virgin Money will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will permit you to let 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 Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor.
I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local New Malden solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your New Malden postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in New Malden.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in New Malden. Now, I need the documents but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in New Malden of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am using a search engine for the term conveyancing in New Malden it brings up numerous solicitorsin the area. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancing solicitor for me?
The ideal method of choosing a suitable conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so enquire of colleagues and family who have purchased a property in New Malden or a reputable estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in New Malden vary, so it's sensible to obtain at least three costs illustrations from varying types of law firms. Dont forget to clarify that the charges are guaranteed not to increase.