My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our maisonette in Stratford with Barclays. 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. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 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 Barclays 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 Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays 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 Barclays 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.
We wanted to use a property lawyer in Stratford for our home move. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage lenders HSBC Bank won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
Mortgage Companies normally imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such criteria being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have reduced the number of firms they permit to represent them. Be aware that HSBC Bank have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of HSBC Bank Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are mixed opinions concerning the extent of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Stratford only perform a couple conveyances per annum.
I am helping my niece sell her house in Stratford. Does the conveyancing solicitor arrange an energy performance certificate or should I organise this?
Following the demise of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was kept a mandatory part of selling a house. An energy assessment should be commissioned in advance of the property being marketed. It is not a task that solicitors normally organise. If you are instructing a Stratford conveyancing practitioner they might help arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established local providers
We were going to get a AIP from Clydesdale this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Clydesdale recommend any Stratford solicitors on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Stratford solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Clydesdale through the process.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Stratford. I have a mortgage offer with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.
2 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Stratford concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 property 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.
How does conveyancing in Stratford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Stratford approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because builders in Stratford usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Stratford or who has acted in the same development.
Given that I am about to part with £400,000 on a garden flat in Stratford I would like to talk to a conveyancer regarding thehouse move in advance of appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?
We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the lawyer who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Stratford.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Stratford should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.