My partner and I are refinancing our apartment in Norton with Kent Reliance. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights 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 Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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'm the only beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Norton. The Norton property was put into my name in July. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship may be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in July. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers 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. Most banks would take a practical view as this provision is primarily there to capture subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of property.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Norton off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with UBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel.
TSB have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a property in Norton has been accepted, what happens next?
The estate agent will need to be advised as to your property lawyer's details (be sure the conveyancing practitioners are on the bank’s panel). Call up TSB or the broker and finish off any outstanding paperwork. TSB will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to book an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. TSB will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Norton.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Norton?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Norton. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Norton. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Norton
-
Please supply a car parking plan. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Norton is the location of the property. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Norton are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Norton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Norton may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous property agents in Norton to locate a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers ahead of another?
We refuse to give any commission for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.