My wife and I are refinancing our flat in Eye with Skipton. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton 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 Skipton 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.
Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of Eye conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel?
Eye conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Yorkshire BS directly.
I am mortgaging my flat in Eye, does my lawyer have to be on the Co-operative Conveyancing panel?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Co-operative will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
How does conveyancing in Eye differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Eye come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in Eye tend to acquire the land, 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 Eye or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Eye is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?
Flying freeholds in Eye are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Eye you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Eye may determine 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 residence.
My brother has urged me to instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Eye. Should I find my own property lawyer?
No doubt it’s preferable to select a conveyancing practitioner is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have experience in using the conveyancer you're considering.