My wife and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a property in Thornton and my parents have sent the ten percent deposit to my conveyancing practitioner. I am now told that as the deposit has not come from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the lender concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
Your property lawyer is obliged to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only notify this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Thornton. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Lloyds, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
Where you plan to refinance then Lloyds will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Lloyds mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
How does conveyancing in Thornton differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Thornton contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because builders in Thornton tend to acquire 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Thornton or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Thornton before appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not grant a mortgage on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. If you e-mail 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 accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Thornton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Thornton to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.
As co-executor for the estate of my father I am disposing of a residence in Neath but reside in Thornton. My conveyancer (who is 300 kilometers from merequires that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Thornton to attest and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Thornton based
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Thornton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Thornton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block? It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is coming up to be shared by the tenants and will materially increase the the service fees or result in a one time payment.