Our nephew is in the process of securing a newly built flat in Upper Norwood with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My wife and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Virgin Money as we wish to conduct improvements to our home in Upper Norwood. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Upper Norwood solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Virgin Money don't usually require firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Virgin Money panel.
It is not clear whether my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Upper Norwood building society branch on various occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Upper Norwood conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the property lawyer is on the lender approved list, they must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Upper Norwood. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A few days later, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Yorkshire BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Should our solicitor be asking questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Upper Norwood.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Upper Norwood. Some people will acquire a property in Upper Norwood, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Upper Norwood. The standard property information forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the seller to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser could bring a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s lawyers will also order an environmental search. This will indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be conducted.
five months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Upper Norwood completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. 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 asset 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.
I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Upper Norwood I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Upper Norwood in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
I am in the process of buying my first house in Upper Norwood. Conveyancing lawyer already selected. The financial consultant suggested that a survey is not necessary as the property was only built in 2001.
At the very least you should order a Home Buyer's Report. As the residence was constructed over a decade ago the property will be without a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. For a property that age with no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report may be enough. They will highlight any obvious issues and suggest further investigation where relevant. Where there are any indications of material issues obtain a full structural survey.