My wife and I are refinancing our penthouse in Buckinghamshire with Santander. 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 reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Santander conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 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.
My bank has suggested a law firm on their panel based in Buckinghamshire but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Buckinghamshire round the corner to me. Can you assist?
Far from all Buckinghamshire conveyancing practices are on all banks conveyancing panel. Please make the most of our find an approved solicitor tool to choose a Buckinghamshire conveyancing solicitor on the on the mortgage company panel.
Do I need to take out insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when buying a property in Buckinghamshire?
Unless a prior acquisition of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you can take it that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Buckinghamshire to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
How does conveyancing in Buckinghamshire differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Buckinghamshire come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because builders in Buckinghamshire usually acquire the real estate, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Buckinghamshire or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Buckinghamshire I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Buckinghamshire in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Buckinghamshire conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Buckinghamshire conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you speak with several firms including non Buckinghamshire conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be useful:
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Can they put you in touch with clients in Buckinghamshire who can give a testimonial? How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
Buckinghamshire Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying
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This question is useful as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have all the details How much is the ground rent and service charge? Please note if it is less than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease.