Our son is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Gravesend with a home loan from Bank of Ireland. His lawyer has said that there is 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 document 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 Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
It is is a decade since I purchased my property in Gravesend. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down my title documents. Will this cause complications?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the lender or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Gravesend relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
Will my conveyancer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Gravesend.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Gravesend. Plenty of people will buy a property in Gravesend, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Gravesend. The standard information sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover whether the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser may bring a claim for damages resulting from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers should also carry out an environmental search. This should reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be carried out.
Have completed on a a terraced house in Gravesend , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to register the transfer to my name? My Gravesend conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check that my name is registered.
As far as conveyancing in Gravesend is concerned, registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can adjust according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any third parties. Currently roughly three quarters of submission are completed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Registration occurs once the new owner is living at the premises so post completion formalities is not usually top priority but where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers can communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.
Am I best advised to appoint a Gravesend conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can handle the legal formalities but his firm is located over three hundred miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Gravesend conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, present your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have instructed your friend and on the whole were happy that should trump using an unknown Gravesend conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gravesend with the purpose of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gravesend can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. A minority of Gravesend leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Gravesend conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Gravesend - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing
-
Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Gravesendlease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? What is the the remaining lease term?