My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse in Bacup with Virgin Money. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.
I just bought a house at auction in Bacup. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?
Having for in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you should find a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you are faced with a pending a drop dead date to complete the conveyancing. All auction property should have a corresponding legal pack. This should include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer will need. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the conveyancing papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to pass this on to the conveyancer instructed by you as soon as possible. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete on the on the contractual date .
We have agreed to purchase a house in Bacup. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale your lawyer must check the formal instructions outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Clydesdale. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Clydesdale where a lease fails to comply with these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Bacup.
It is not clear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Bacup bank branch on numerous occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Bacup conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?
Provided that the solicitor is on the bank panel, she or he must adhere to the CML Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
Will my solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Bacup.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in Bacup. There are those who purchase a property in Bacup, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their lawyers which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Bacup. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the owner to discover if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser could bring a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading reply. A buyer’s conveyancers should also order an enviro search. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations should be made.
I'm purchasing my first flat in Bacup with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Bacup is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?
Flying freeholds in Bacup are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Bacup you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bacup may ascertain 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 premises.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Bacup. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?
It best that you discharge the invoice as usual as all ground rent and service charges will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
Bacup Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
-
Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Does this lease have more than 82 years remaining? The answer will be important as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to have complete disclosure