My husband and I are refinancing our penthouse in Witham with Lloyds. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose 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 questions (1) Is this document specific to the Lloyds conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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.
Are the Witham conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the RBS conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by RBS?
Witham conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from RBS directly.
We intend to purchase a purpose built apartment in Witham with a residential mortgage from Barclays .We would like to retain our Witham conveyancing lawyer but Barclays informed us she’s not listed on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Barclays panel lawyer or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
Unfortunately,no. The home loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barclays
I'm the single recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Witham. The Witham property was put into my name in May. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my property ownership will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in May. Is the property unsalable for six months?
The CML handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this provision principally exists to capture subsales or the quick reselling of property.
Are all Witham Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Nottingham conveyancing list of approved firms?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Coventry BS. Witham conveyancing solicitors have been chosen. How long does it take for Coventry BS to send the offer to the lawyer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Coventry BS conducted the valuation? Have you informed Coventry BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
Is it necessary to take out insurance to cover chancel repairs when buying a house in Witham?
Unless a prior purchase of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you could expect solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Witham to continue to suggest a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Witham. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is registered - and most are in Witham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I own a 1st floor flat in Witham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Witham with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2093
With only 68 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.