My god-son is purchasing a newly built flat in Upper Norwood with a mortgage from Nottingham. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the HSBC Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Upper Norwood?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 at a cost.
My fiancee and I are spending time looking at flats in Upper Norwood and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a mortgage with Nottingham.
You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
Santander have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a flat in Upper Norwood has been accepted, what happens next?
The property agent will want to know who your solicitors are (be sure the solicitors are on the bank’s panel). Call up Santander or the broker and complete any outstanding forms. Santander will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to schedule a slot for the valuation to take place. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to get a mortgage offer. Santander will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Upper Norwood.
I have finally had an offer on a flat in Upper Norwood agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on a property, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Upper Norwood. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS?
It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then valuation, Upper Norwood conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to check that your solicitor is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent phase this very much depends on the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to proceed with searches.
I am buying my first flat in Upper Norwood with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it could impact my mortgage with Coventry Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Am I right to be concerned by brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Upper Norwood conveyancing practice?
As is the case with many professional services, often recommendations from relatives can be very helpful. But there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may recommend solicitors to choose. On occasion the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to choose your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that most banks have an approved list of conveyancers you must use for the lender aspect of your home move.
Please set a few of distinct benefits to selecting a high street conveyancing practitioner in Upper Norwood
Home movers in Upper Norwood opt for a nearby high street property lawyer so that they can visit just in case they have questions, and to collect paperwork rather taking the chance of depending on the Royal Mail.
One could suggest that there is a marginal benefit when using a lawyer local to a property you are purchasing, due to the in-depth knowledge of the region and potential local concerns - yet this is debatable. Most conveyancers are now via the internet and may be practically anywhere.