My son-in-law is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Downe with a mortgage from Aldermore. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Having sold my house in Downe last September but our buyer keeps telephoning every few hours to say their solicitor needs to hear from mysolicitor. What should my lawyer have done following completion?
Post completion of your sale your conveyancer is duty bound to send the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Where appropriate, your solicitor should also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion steps just for conveyancing in Downe.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Downe ahead of retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor has said that some banks may not grant a loan on this type of home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Downe. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
As co-executor for the estate of my father I am selling a property in Swansea but I am based in Downe. My conveyancer (who is 250 miles awayrequires that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Downe who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?
Technically speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are located in Downe
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Downe with the intention of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Downe can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors. A minority of Downe leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Downe charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Downe.
I am the registered owner of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Downe. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Downe conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Downe residence 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.
Our lender agreed in principle to grant us a mortgage. We instructed a reputable conveyancer in Downe last week. This morning, our broker called to say that the bank said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their 'approved list'. As FTB's, we did not have a clue that the mortgage company had some control over our choice Is this permitted?
You can actually instruct any lawyer you prefer to use including the said conveyancer in Downe however if your bank aren't happy with them you will have to fork out additional cost so the bank can instruct their own lawyers. It may be possible your preferred conveyancing firm to get included on to the lender list of approved firms. Do make the most of web-based search facilities including lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Downe on the mortgage company panel. You can go into your local mortgage company branch in Downe. They will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Downe on the lender panel.