Our god-son is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Farnworth with a mortgage from Coventry BS. 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 engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Will conveyancers ask for money up-front for my conveyancing in Farnworth?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Farnworth your lawyer will ask you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is as part of the total price then this should be asked for shortly ahead of exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.
I am assisting my sister sell her house in Farnworth. Does the solicitor order an energy performance certificate or it is for me to coordinate?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates remained a required element of moving property. An energy assessment must be to hand prior to the property being marketed. This is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers normally organise. Where you are using a Farnworth conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with long established local providers
We have agreed to purchase a house in Farnworth. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender RBS be concerned?
As your lender is RBS your lawyer must check the formal instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for RBS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to RBS where a lease does not satisfy these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Farnworth.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Clydesdale. I assume I don't need a Farnworth solicitor on the Clydesdale panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale mortgage from the register. Clydesdale, 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 Clydesdale has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Clydesdale has instructed the Land Registry to do so
I need some fast conveyancing in Farnworth as I have a deadline to exchange contracts within one month. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to escape the need for 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 lawyer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Farnworth the following are instances of what can appear and therefore impact market value: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Fees, Overdue Grants, Road Schemes,...
I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Farnworth. Now, I need the files however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Farnworth of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Our lawyer in Farnworth has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are buying in Farnworth. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the lender conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. A precondition to being on the lender approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.