Our nephew is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Witney with a mortgage from Virgin Money. His conveyancer 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 engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I am helping my mother sell her house in Witney. Does the solicitor arrange the EPC or should I organise this?
Following the abolition of HIPs, energy performance certificates was kept a mandatory element of moving property. An EPC must be to hand prior to the property being marketed. It is not as aspect of the sale process that solicitors ordinarily arrange. Where you are using a Witney conveyancing practitioner they might be able to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with reputable Witney energy assessors
I just bought a property at auction in Witney. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?
Given that you have now legally committed yourself to purchase you must choose a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of urgency as you will have a pending a fixed date to complete the deal. Every auction property should have a corresponding auction set of papers. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the auction pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You should hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. Do make sure that your finances are in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Lloyds. Witney conveyancing practitioners are appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Lloyds?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Lloyds done the survey? Have you advised Lloyds as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
A colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Witney I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Witney conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Witney around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Witney Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Witney.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Witney in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to give a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Witney. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Witney to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Witney what are the most frequent lease defects?
Leasehold conveyancing in Witney is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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A duty to insure the building
You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.
I inherited a 2 bed flat in Witney, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Witney with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2078
With just 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.
My step-mother completed her conveyancing in Witney 9 years ago. She has since got married, divorced and is now remarried. She now intends to dispose of the Witney property. I think she will simply be requested to supply copies of her marriage certificates to the conveyancer however she is anxious it could frustrate the house sale. Should she appoint a property lawyer to update the title information for the house?
It is not absolutely necessary to update the register providing you have the proof required to demonstrate how the name change resulted.
Any purchaser’s conveyancer will examine the title entries and request evidence to prove the change of name for example marriage documentation.