My husband and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Abersoch with Aldermore. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify 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 repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Aldermore conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish 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 Aldermore. This is solely used to protect Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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.
Completed the sale of my flat in Abersoch last September but my buyer keeps Skype messaging daily to moan that his lawyer needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?
After completion of your sale your conveyancer should deliver the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Where appropriate, your lawyer must also confirm that the mortgage has been repaid to the purchasers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion formalities specific conveyancing in Abersoch.
Do I need to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Abersoch so that I can attend their offices if required.
Nowadays conveyancing panel lawyers for lenders conduct all of the communications via Royal Mail, e-mail or over the phone. This means that they can undertake the legal work for your home move regardless of where you live in the country. However you can see if you have the option of attending the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Barclays. Abersoch conveyancing lawyers are instructed. How long does it take for Barclays to issue the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Barclays done the valuation? Have you advised Barclays as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Barclays conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I am purchasing a property in Abersoch. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Barclays have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Barclays your lawyer must check the formal instructions set out in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Barclays. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Barclays where a lease does not meet these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Abersoch.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Abersoch. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
I have been told that property searches are the main cause of stalling in Abersoch house deals. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Abersoch.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Abersoch 10 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
As long as you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be recorded by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your house and secure up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.