My partner and I are refinancing our flat in Ripley with HSBC. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the HSBC conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 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 HSBC. This is solely used to protect HSBC 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 HSBC 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.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Ripley is more expensive?
Ripley leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
I own a semi-detached Edwardian property in Ripley. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. Is it worth asking Coventry Building Society to clarify?
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ripley and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
We're first time buyers - agreed a price, but the agent informed us that the vendor will only move forward if we instruct their preferred lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Ripley
We suspect that the owner is unaware of this request. Should the seller desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and make the point that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to instruct your preferred Ripley conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the estate agent a commission or meet his conveyancing targets set by corporate headquarters.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Ripley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Ripley, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Ripley with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2094
You have 68 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
Are you able to clarify what options are open to me where my Ripley conveyancing searches shows negative entries?
Usually, the majority of issues that arise in Ripley conveyancing search responses can be handled ahead of completion or title insurance could possibly be put in place. You need to remember that although you are acquiring the property and may be willing to accept the search results, your mortgage lender may not, and when all said and done the decision rests with them.