My wife and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Boscombe with Santander. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Santander conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Santander. This is solely used to protect Santander 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 Santander 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.
There is lots of here regarding conveyancing in Boscombe but what is your top tip for appointing the right conveyancer in Boscombe
It would be unwise to be swayed by the cheapest Boscombe conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
Is it the case that all Boscombe solicitors on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Virgin Money approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
I have instructed a Boscombe conveyancer having checked that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Kent Reliance will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kent Reliance will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Boscombe surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
My partner and I are selling our house in Boscombe and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a factory type conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Boscombe. Having lived in Boscombe for six years we know that this is a non issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)
How does conveyancing in Boscombe differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Boscombe contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because new home sellers in Boscombe tend to buy the site, 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 property lawyers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Boscombe or who has acted in the same development.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous selling agents in Boscombe to locate a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to market your services over another?
We don’t offer any referral fee for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Boscombe for my purchase. Is there any facility to check a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?
Anyone may search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.