My son is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Berkhamsted with a mortgage from Skipton. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Skipton 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 Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Do lawyers ask for money on account for my conveyancing in Berkhamsted?
If you are buying a property in Berkhamsted your solicitor will request that you place them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Ordinarily this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is payable against the purchase price then this should be needed immediately in advance of exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is needed will be payable shortly before completion.
A relative advised me that in buying a property in Berkhamsted there may be various restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Berkhamsted which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Berkhamsted should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I have paid off my mortgage with Principality. I assume I don't need a Berkhamsted property lawyer on the Principality panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Principality mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Principality mortgage from the register. Principality, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Principality has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Principality has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Berkhamsted. I have a mortgage offer with Clydesdale. 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 Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I have justbeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Berkhamsted for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Berkhamsted conveyancing specialists.
I have been pointed in your direction by a couple of local selling agents in Berkhamsted to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your services over another?
We refuse to offer any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Berkhamsted. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?
It best that you clear the service charge as you normally would given that all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents 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.
I acquired a leasehold flat in Berkhamsted, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Berkhamsted with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2086
With 65 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.