My son is purchasing a house that has just been built in St Neots with a home loan from Nationwide. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in St Neots costs more?
St Neots leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in St Neots so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, the vast majority banks no longer need their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to hand over identification documents and there are still manifest advantages to instructing a local practitioner, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in St Neots.
We are buying a apartment in St Neots. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to deposit our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
We previously selected conveyancing lawyers based in St Neots on the Skipton solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me an additional amount for dealing with the Skipton mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Skipton?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Skipton but by your St Neots solicitor. Some firms on the Skipton panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
Can I be sure that the St Neots conveyancing solicitor on the Nationwide panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in St Neots obtaining recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.
Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the main cause of delay in St Neots house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in St Neots.
I'm converting the mortgage on my current property to a BTL loan with TSB and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on another house. The area we are looking at is St Neots. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of banks and link together the two deals?
Do use our search tool on this page to be sure that the lawyers are on the relevant lender panels. Having checked that they are your solicitor should be able to connect the two deals but you should have a chat with you solicitor and make apparent your expectations and requirements.