My fiance and I are refinancing our flat in Tolworth with Lloyds. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Lloyds conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 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.
Completed the sale of my flat in Tolworth last July yet the purchaser is telephoning every few hours to say his conveyancer needs to hear from myconveyancer. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Following your house sale your lawyer is committed to send the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. If applicable, your lawyer should also evidence that the mortgage has been paid off to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks just for conveyancing in Tolworth.
What happens if my solicitor is suspended from the Kent Reliance Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Tolworth?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. 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 for a fee.
My uncle advised me that in purchasing a property in Tolworth there may be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Tolworth which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Tolworth should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Can you point me to a directory of TSB panel conveyancers in Tolworth on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association sites. Very few lenders make their panel listings visible online. Where you are seeking to appoint a Tolworth conveyancer on the TSB please make the most of our facility.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Clydesdale are being pedantic. The Tolworth solicitor who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Clydesdale are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Clydesdale have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Clydesdale have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Clydesdale may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
Various online forums that I have come across warn that are the number one cause of delay in Tolworth house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Tolworth.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Tolworth is where the house is located. What do you suggest?
Flying freeholds in Tolworth are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Tolworth you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Tolworth may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.