My fiance and I are refinancing our apartment in Highnam with Bank of Ireland. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland. This is solely used to protect Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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.
What can a local search tell me concerning the house we're purchasing in Highnam?
Highnam conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as Onsearch The local search plays a central part in most Highnam conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject areas.
Me and my brother have a terraced Edwardian house in Highnam. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Britannia. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Britannia to clarify?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Highnam and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Highnam is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Highnam are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Highnam you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Highnam may decide 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 have been pointed in your direction by numerous property agents in Highnam to find a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to offer your site over a competitor’s?
We don’t make any commission for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Highnam. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Highnam.
I own a basement flat in Highnam, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2010. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Highnam with an extended lease are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2080
You have 54 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 plus professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.