It has come to my attention via my estate agent that my Braunton the law firm I have appointed is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?
The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your Braunton conveyancer. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Braunton with Virgin Money. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document 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 concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 5 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 Virgin Money 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 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 am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Braunton I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Braunton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.
Should I appoint a Braunton conveyancing practitioner based in the location that I am buying? I have an old university friend who can perform the legal work but they are based approximately 350kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a high street Braunton conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were happy that should surpass using an unfamiliar Braunton conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Braunton based.
I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Braunton. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Braunton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Braunton in which case you should be looking for a Braunton conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.
Braunton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying
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How is the lease structured? For most Braunton leaseholds the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Braunton require tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works. You should be aware if it is less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Brauntonlease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.
When it comes to my conveyancing in Braunton should I be charged VAT on the following: (1) Land reg fee on purchase (2) Pre - completion search fee (3) SDLT E submission on purchase (4) Bank TT fee
(1) Land reg fee on purchase - No (2) Pre - completion search fees -No, (such conveyancing searches are HMLR ones and means £4 and possibly £2 bankruptcy per name on your mortgage) (3) SDLT E submission on your purchase - There is no VAT on Stamp Duty. However if the firm is charging a stamp duty e-submission fee as part of their services - some Braunton conveyancers do - that will incur VAT(4) Bank transfer fee - Yes it is for the conveyancer's time in submitting the funds this way.