My fiance and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Longlands with Clydesdale. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement 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.
Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Longlands is more expensive?
Longlands leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.
The Longlands conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Longlands have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and my family Longlands lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.
We are purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Longlands. We would like to convert the garage to an office at the house.Will the conveyancing process include enquiries to determine if these works are allowed?
Your conveyancer will review the registered title as conveyancing in Longlands will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict categories of changes or require the permission of a 3rd party. Many extensions need local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be wise to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
My wife and I are spending time looking at apartments in Longlands and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a home loan with UBS.
It would be sensible to instigate your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with UBS, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Longlands off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Leeds Building Society. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
I purchased a terraced Edwardian property in Longlands. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Longlands and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Longlands is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can give?
Flying freeholds in Longlands are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Longlands you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Longlands may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.