My nephew is buying a newly built flat in Biggin Hill with a home loan from Clydesdale. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
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 Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The solicitors who dealt with the conveyancing in Biggin Hill 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
You no longer need to have the physical deeds to prove you are the registered proprietor of land or premises, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
How does conveyancing in Biggin Hill differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Biggin Hill contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Biggin Hill usually acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Biggin Hill or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Biggin Hill before instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to grant a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Biggin Hill. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Biggin Hill especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Biggin Hill.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Biggin Hill for my home move. Can I check a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
One may review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could monitor call for training purposes.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill from the point of view of expediting the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Biggin Hill can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Biggin Hill home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
Having spent months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Biggin Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Biggin Hill conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Biggin Hill premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.