My wife and I intend to remortgage our flat in Belsize Park with Aldermore. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify 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 forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Aldermore conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Aldermore conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Belsize Park? What am I being asked for?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering regulations require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing instruction. The Client Care letter that you are required to sign will no doubt stipulate this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Where you refuse to supply identification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to act for you.
My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Belsize Park. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?
The first thing to do is e-mail your lawyer and enquire if they can act for the lender. Otherwise please call Alliance & Leicester who may be able to confirm.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Belsize Park. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park
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Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?
I was advised by numerous estate agents in Belsize Park to locate a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to recommend your services ahead of a competitor’s?
We refuse to give any financial incentive for directing people in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park with the intention of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives. Many freeholders or managing agents in Belsize Park charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belsize Park. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Belsize Park home move. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Belsize Park state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Belsize Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Belsize Park conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Belsize Park premises is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case related to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 16.83 and 16.43.