My wife and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Totnes with Coventry BS. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Coventry BS conveyancing panel as he did not need 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 Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS. This is solely used to protect Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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 are a couple who are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Totnes with a homeloan from Birmingham Midshires.We use our Totnes conveyancing practitioner but Birmingham Midshires says she’s not listed on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Birmingham Midshires panel lawyer or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors must be on the Birmingham Midshires approved list. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Birmingham Midshires
My partner and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Totnes and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Totnes. We have lived in Totnes for many years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)
How does conveyancing in Totnes differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Totnes come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because builders in Totnes usually buy the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 Totnes or who has acted in the same development.
I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in Totnes. I happened to land on a site which seems to have the ideal offering If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via email that would be ideal. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Totnes. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Totnes who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Totnes conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Totnes, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Totnes with a long lease are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2085
With just 59 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.