My wife and I are refinancing our flat in Potswood with Santander. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 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 apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Santander conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 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 Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander 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 Santander 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.
It is is a decade since I bought my house in Potswood. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't track down my title deeds. Will this cause complications?
Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be with the lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Potswood involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.
My husband and I are hoping to buy a 2 bedroom apartment in Potswood with a mortgage from The Mortgage Works.We like our Potswood conveyancing practitioner but The Mortgage Works informed us her practice is not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a The Mortgage Works panel firm or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for a The Mortgage Works panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that The Mortgage Works use our lawyer?
No, not really. The home loan issued to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the The Mortgage Works solicitor panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for The Mortgage Works
Should my solicitor be raising questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Potswood.
Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Potswood. Some people will buy a property in Potswood, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Potswood. The standard information supplied to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the vendor to find out whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect response. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an enviro report. This will disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be carried out.
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At this site get a fixed fee quote via a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that understands the nuances for your conveyancing in Potswood. Unlike many estate agents and many comparison sites we do not have referral arrangements with solicitors. Many agents and online brokers 'recommend' solicitors who pay the most per referral, rather than the best value conveyancing in Potswood
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of Potswood solicitors? How do you know who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?
Potswood law firm practices and firms conducting conveyancing in Potswood themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the mortgage company directly.