My son is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Gospel Oak with a mortgage from HSBC. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form 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 HSBC conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer 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 HSBC 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 Leeds Building Society, do Gospel Oak property lawyers incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We had chosen solicitors based in Gospel Oak on the Nationwide solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional fee for the legal aspects of the Nationwide mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nationwide?
Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer may levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by Nationwide but by your Gospel Oak conveyancer. Some firms on the Nationwide panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms include it on their overall fee.
I am purchasing a property in Gospel Oak. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Nationwide be concerned?
Given that your lender is Nationwide your lawyer must check the conveyancing instructions set out in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nationwide. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Nationwide where a lease does not meet these provisions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Gospel Oak.
A friend advised me that if I am purchasing in Gospel Oak I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your Gospel Oak conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Gospel Oak around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Gospel Oak.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Gospel Oak?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Gospel Oak. 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…’
I am purchasing a new build house in Gospel Oak with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the side-deal as it will adversely affect my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
At what stage do I incur stamp duty due for my Gospel Oak house purchase?
The majority of lawyers tend to complete a stamp duty return for you as part of your Gospel Oak conveyancing transaction for signature. On completion your property lawyer will submit your STL Return Form to the Tax Authorities and - assuming they have the money - settle any Stamp Duty due for you.