My partner and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Seaforth with HSBC. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. 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, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the HSBC conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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.
I am the single recipient of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the house in Seaforth. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in May. I want to move. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in May. Will no one buy the property for half a year?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this provision primarily exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.
I am expecting a OIP from TSB this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do TSB recommend any Seaforth solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Seaforth solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the TSB conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and TSB through the process.
After what seems like an age I have had an offer on a maisonette in Seaforth accepted, the owners do however have an associated purchase. The owners have offered on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Seaforth. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with Skipton going?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Seaforth conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many purchasers would apply for a home loan with Skipton and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancer to move forward with the conveyancing in Seaforth.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Seaforth ahead of retaining lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold property.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Seaforth. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I'm converting the mortgage on my primary property to a buy to let loan with Barnsley Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on further property. The area we are interested in is Seaforth. Will your solicitors be able to act for the two mortgage companies and tie in the transactions?
Do use our comparison tool on this site to ensure that the solicitors are approved by both mortgage companies. Assuming that they are the conveyancer should be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should have a chat with you lawyer and make clear your expectations and requirements.
I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Seaforth. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Seaforth are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Seaforth in which case you should be looking for a Seaforth conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.
Seaforth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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On the whole the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Seaforth ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Seaforthlease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension.
How does one as executor remove a deceased person's name from the title deeds for a house in Seaforth?
Where a Seaforth property is jointly owned and one of the owners passes away, their name will not immediately be removed from the Land Registry title. You are not required to amend the title as in the event of a disposal your lawyer would simply be required to evidence why the co owner is missing from the conveyance, usually this is in the form of a grant of probate.
With a view to making the sale conveyancing simpler for the sale of the property you may arrange to have the deceased person erased from the title entries by applying to HM Land Registry with evidence of the death. There is no land registry fee payable.