Our god-son is purchasing a house that has just been built in Holywell with a mortgage from Skipton. His solicitor 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 Skipton 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 Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
The Holywell conveyancing firm that just started acting on my purchase in Holywell have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Barclays conveyancing panel and my family Holywell lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Barclays conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist.
What does a local search inform me concerning the house we're purchasing in Holywell?
Holywell conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Searchflow The local search plays a central part in most Holywell conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (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 thirteen subject sections.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house are lost. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Holywell 10 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be evidenced by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is possible to carry out a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and get current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Holywell ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not issue a mortgage on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Holywell. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Should I appoint a Holywell conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal formalities however her office is 200miles away.
The primary upside of using a local Holywell conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Holywell know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Holywell conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.