My partner and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in South Woodford with Lloyds. 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Lloyds conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Lloyds. This is solely used to protect Lloyds 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 Lloyds 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 happens if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Lloyds Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in South Woodford?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
Should my lawyer be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in South Woodford.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in South Woodford. There are those who buy a property in South Woodford, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in South Woodford. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual inquiry of the owner to determine whether the premises has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer may issue a claim for damages stemming from an misleading response. The purchaser’s lawyers may also order an enviro report. This should indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be made.
It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in South Woodford took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in South Woodford I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in South Woodford for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they 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 speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
My husband and I are new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent told us that the owners will only proceed if we appoint the agent's chosen solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in South Woodford
We suspect that the owner is unaware of this request. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and explain that (a)you are motivated buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred South Woodford conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthose that will earn the estate agent a kickback or meet his conveyancing thresholds demanded by head office.