My partner and I are refinancing our maisonette in Walkden with RBS. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the RBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 RBS. This is solely used to protect RBS 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 RBS 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.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Walkden so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to twenty years ago, almost all banks no longer need their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the mortgagors signature. You will still be obliged to provide identification documents and there are still manifest advantages to instructing a local solicitor, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Walkden.
I just bought a flat at auction in Walkden. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?
Given that you are now exchanged you must find a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are facing a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the conveyancing. An auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding legal pack. This should include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the auction papers may provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation relating to a leasehold property. You need to pass this on to the lawyer working for you at the earliest opportunity. You also need to ensure that you have funds in place to complete on the date specified in the contract.
I have paid off my mortgage with Coventry BS. I assume I don't need a Walkden conveyancing practitioner on the Coventry BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Coventry BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Coventry BS mortgage from the register. Coventry BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Coventry BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Coventry BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The mortgage over my property is with Lloyds for my property in Walkden. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Lloyds?
Lloyds must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. You need not do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel lawyer.
What can a local search tell me concerning the house my wife and I purchasing in Walkden?
Walkden conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for example Xpress Legal The local search plays a central role in most Walkden conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Walkden I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Walkden in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I have been pointed in your direction by a number of estate agents in Walkden to select a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your services ahead of a competitor’s?
We don’t give any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.