My husband and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a flat in Risca and my mum and dad have transferred the exchange deposit to my conveyancing practitioner. I am now informed that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my conveyancer needs to disclose this to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the lender concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?
The property lawyer is legally required to check with lender to ensure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only disclose this to your bank if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Risca. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be kept by the lender or they may stored with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Risca involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more problematic but is resolvable.
I'm buying a new build house in Risca benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it could impact my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Risca I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Risca suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
Should you need a home loan that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
I work for a reputable estate agent office in Risca where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Risca conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I bought a garden flat in Risca, conveyancing formalities finalised November 2003. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Risca with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2087
With only 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £19,000 and £22,000 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered 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 getting professional advice.
What can I do to discover who is the owner of a property in Risca?
Provided the property is registered with HMLR, and you have requisite information of the address of the premises, you will be able to view results from the HM Land Registry of the recorded proprietor for a a minimal charge.