My partner and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in Driffield with Clydesdale. 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. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.
It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in Driffield. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't locate my title documents. Is this a problem?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the mortgage company or they could still be with the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Driffield involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
I need some expedited conveyancing in Driffield as I am under an ultimatum to sign on the dotted line inside 2 weeks. Fortunately I do not require a mortgage. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?
As you are not obtaining a home loan you have the choice not to do searches although no solicitor would suggest that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Driffield the following are instances of what can crop up and therefore impact the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Fees, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Driffield?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Driffield. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Driffield differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Driffield contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Driffield 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 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Driffield or who has acted in the same development.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Driffield. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as you normally would as all rents and maintenance charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Driffield - A selection of Queries before Purchasing
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Does this lease have in excess of 90 years left? On the whole the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Driffield ask leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works. You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension.