It has come to my attention via my estate agent that my Rochester lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your Rochester lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.
Our son-in-law is purchasing a newly built flat in Rochester with a home loan from UBS. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the UBS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the UBS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
The Rochester conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Rochester have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a lawyer on the TSB conveyancing panel and my previous Rochester lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the TSB conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to help.
Various online forums that I have come across warn that are the main reason for obstruction in Rochester house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Rochester.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Rochester?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Rochester. 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 Rochester. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Rochester
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Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.