My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette in Cross Hands with UBS. We have a son 18 who lives with us. 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, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the UBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 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 UBS. This is solely used to protect UBS 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 UBS 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.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Cross Hands? Is this really warranted?
Cross Hands conveyancing solicitors as well as nationwide property lawyers throughout the UK have an obligation under money laundering regulations to check the ID of any client with a view to ensure that clients are who they say they are.
Conveyancing clients will need to provide two forms of certified ID; proof of identity (usually a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (usually a Bank Statement less than 3 months old).
Proof of the origin of funds is also necessary under the money laundering statutes as solicitors are duty bound to investigate that the funds you are utilising to purchase a property (be it the exchange deposit or the full purchase price where you are a cash purchaser) has come from an acceptable source (such as employment savings) rather than the product of criminal behaviour.
My apartment in Cross Hands is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does my conveyancing practitioner have to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Skipton conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.
Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose proposed roadworks that could affect a commercial property in Cross Hands?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Cross Hands will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in sourcing accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Cross Hands. The search result provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Cross Hands.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Cross Hands it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to Cross Hands commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not ordered for residential conveyancing in Cross Hands.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Cross Hands I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cross Hands in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Living abroad I am unable to visit my Cross Hands conveyancing solicitors office to sign documents for conveyancing in Cross Hands – will this be problematic?
Not a problem. Cross Hands conveyancing lawyers can undertake home moves for clients nationwide. It is not necessary for you to be able to visit a Cross Hands conveyancers office. They can undertake everything via phone, post and email - whatever works for you.