My fiance and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Woolacombe with Santander. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Santander conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up 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 Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander 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 Santander 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.
My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Woolacombe. I need to find out whether they are accepted on the National Westminster Bank approved list of lawyers. Can you advise?
You should contact your lawyer and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you should get in touch with National Westminster Bank who may be able to confirm.
We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Woolacombe and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used an online conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Woolacombe. We have lived in Woolacombe for three years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
How does conveyancing in Woolacombe differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Woolacombe approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Woolacombe tend to buy the site, 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 Woolacombe or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Woolacombe prior to retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a loan on this type of premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Woolacombe. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
As co-executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a property in Newport but I am based in Woolacombe. My lawyer (approximately 235 miles from meneeds me to sign a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Woolacombe who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily or notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Woolacombe based