My husband and I are refinancing our apartment in Petersfield with UBS. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the UBS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise 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 UBS. This is solely used to protect UBS 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 UBS 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.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Petersfield last October yet the purchaser is telephoning daily to moan that her lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened following completion?
Following your sale your solicitor should forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Where relevant, your lawyer should also send confirmation that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion procedures specific conveyancing in Petersfield.
A friend advised me that if I am purchasing in Petersfield I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Petersfield conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Petersfield around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Petersfield Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Petersfield.
I opted to have a survey done on a property in Petersfield in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders may not give a mortgage on a flying freehold home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Petersfield. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
We are 17 days into a freehold purchase having been referred to a firm by the local agent to perform conveyancing in Petersfield. I am am starting to be disappointed with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A solicitor would have to be really bad to suggest changing them. Has your mortgage been issued? In the event that it has you will need to inform them of the new solicitor and ensure the mortgage documents are re-sent. Your conveyancer needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid added fees and delays. That should be your starting point. The search tool should assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Petersfield
My partner and I have just had a bid accepted on our 1st house in Petersfield, and need to get solicitors lined up. I have made use of the various rating tools and the fee estimates are from all across the country. Is it necessary to have a Petersfield solicitor local to your prospective property? I am willing to do everything electronically, but I assume at some point we may need to visit the conveyancing practitioner's office to sign papers?
The conveyancer does not need to be in Petersfield, but choosing local means that you can go in if needed, for instance, if a signature is needed urgently. Furthermore, a Petersfield solicitor is likely to be familiar with local agents and (if the vendor has chosen a local conveyancer) with them, which will help keep things moving faster.