My partner and I are refinancing our apartment in Walsall with Clydesdale. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.
Having sold my house in Walsall last December yet the purchaser is calling daily to say his lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
After completion of your disposal your lawyer is obliged to send the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your lawyer should also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements unique to conveyancing in Walsall.
How does conveyancing in Walsall differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Walsall approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because house builders in Walsall 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Walsall or who has acted in the same development.
I was recommended by numerous estate agents in Walsall to find a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site over another?
We don’t give any commission for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I work for a busy estate agency in Walsall where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Walsall conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Walsall Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
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For most Walsall leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Walsall ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the tenants and will materially increase the the service fees or result in a specific invoice. You should want to find out as much as possible regarding the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily matters such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money.
Why can I not complete our conveyancing in Walsall on a public holiday?
Because on completion the money will pass between the banks of the buyer and owner’s conveyancer and at present this can only occur on a business day. So you can't complete on a saturday or sunday either.