Our nephew is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Hertford with a home loan from Co-operative. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form 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 Co-operative 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 Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My property lawyer in Hertford is not listed on the The Mortgage Works Approved Panel. Can I still use my family solicitor even though they are excluded from the The Mortgage Works list of approved lawyers?
Your options are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred Hertford solicitors but The Mortgage Works will need to instruct a conveyancer on their panel. This will result in additional total legal fees and cause delays.
- Find a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are The Mortgage Works approved.
- Persuade your The Mortgage Works based solicitor to try to join the The Mortgage Works panel
We are buying a apartment in Hertford. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we have to put money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
My wife and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from Nationwide as we intend to conduct alterations to our home in Hertford. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Hertford solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
Nationwide would not normally appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide list.
My fiancee and I are at the point of looking at flats in Hertford and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer appointed at this point? I am planning to take a mortgage with Yorkshire BS.
It would be wise to commence your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
We are downsizing from our home in Hertford and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. A high street Hertford conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Hertford. Having lived in Hertford for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home can not be found. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Hertford 10 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical deeds to evidence that you are the owner of your registered land or premises, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Hertford conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hertford conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Hertford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be of use:
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How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
I acquired a ground floor flat in Hertford, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Hertford with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2103
You have 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.