My fiance and I intend to remortgage our flat in Trowbridge with Lloyds. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. 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 questions (1) Is this document specific to the Lloyds conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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.
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Trowbridge and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Trowbridge conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a web based conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Trowbridge. We have lived in Trowbridge for three years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification need.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to 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 life insurance to cover that same ailment)
Me and my brother have a semi-detached Georgian house in Trowbridge. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Platform Home Loans Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Trowbridge and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
How does conveyancing in Trowbridge differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Trowbridge contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because house builders in Trowbridge 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 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 used to new build conveyancing in Trowbridge or who has acted in the same development.
My uncle has recommend that I appoint his lawyers for conveyancing in Trowbridge. Should I find my own property lawyer?
No doubt the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the firm that you are contemplating using.
Do online conveyancing companies do everything a local Trowbridge solicitor does or do I still need to retain a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Trowbridge?
Where you use an online conveyancer they should cover all the work your Trowbridge solicitor will cover.