Our god-son is buying a house that has just been built in Hither Green with a mortgage from Nottingham. His lawyer has said that there is 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 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I am thinking of mortgaging my house in Hither Green, does my lawyer have to be on the Leeds Building Society Conveyancing panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel, but Leeds Building Society would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Hither Green. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Yorkshire BS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As your lender is Yorkshire BS your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing instructions set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Yorkshire BS. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Yorkshire BS where a lease fails to satisfy these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Hither Green.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Hither Green. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Yorkshire BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Barclays are being problematic. The Hither Green solicitor who is on the Barclays conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Barclays are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Barclays have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Barclays have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Barclays may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
The deeds to our house are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Hither Green 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
These day there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your lawyer should know exactly where to locate all the relevant paperwork so you may buy or sell your house without any difficulty. If copies can’t be located, your lawyer can put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on the property.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Hither Green prior to instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold premises.
It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Hither Green. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Last December I purchased a leasehold flat in Hither Green. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Hither Green. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Hither Green premises is 18 Handen Road in April 2013. On 26 October 2012 District Judge Zimmels sitting at the Lambeth County Court made a Vesting Order that the Applicants be granted the right to acquire the freehold upon such terms and at such price determined by the LVT. The Tribunal arrived a figure of £39,535 as a valuation for the enfranchisement. This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.05 years.
