My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette in Shaw with Principality. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Principality conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 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 Principality. This is solely used to protect Principality 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 Principality 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.
What is the first thing I need to know about purchase conveyancing in Shaw?
Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Shaw or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, selling agent and on occasion a bank. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Shaw is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the transaction whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.
Every so often a third party with a vested interest will try and convince you that you should follow their advice. For example, the property agent may claim to be helping by suggesting your conveyancer is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is against your lawyers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Shaw. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Clydesdale have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Clydesdale your lawyer must comply with the formal requirements contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Clydesdale. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Clydesdale where a lease fails to comply with these conditions. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Shaw.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Shaw off the council. I have a mortgage offer with UBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Shaw. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
A colleague advised me that where I am purchasing in Shaw I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Shaw conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Shaw around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Shaw.
Me and my brother purchased a terraced Georgian property in Shaw. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Santander. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should 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 Shaw and other areas of 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 purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Shaw. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Shaw
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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. Please supply a car parking plan. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.