Our son-in-law is about to exchange on a newly built flat in East Dulwich with a mortgage from Clydesdale. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. 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 Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
When it comes to lenders such as Bank of Ireland, do East Dulwich lawyers have to pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
I have paid off my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a East Dulwich property lawyer on the Bank of Ireland panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I currently have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in East Dulwich. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Lloyds?
Lloyds must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel firm.
I have justdiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in East Dulwich for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of East Dulwich conveyancing specialists.
How does conveyancing in East Dulwich differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in East Dulwich contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because developers in East Dulwich usually purchase 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 conveyancers 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 East Dulwich or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. East Dulwich is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?
Flying freeholds in East Dulwich are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside East Dulwich you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in East Dulwich may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I’m about to sell my garden flat in East Dulwich. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice as normal as all ground rent and maintenance payments should be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a East Dulwich conveyancing firm to represent me?
You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a East Dulwich conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Dulwich premises is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.81 years.