My wife and I are refinancing our apartment in Kingsbury with Nationwide. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Nationwide conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Nationwide 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 Nationwide. This is solely used to protect Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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.
Will my solicitor be asking questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Kingsbury.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Kingsbury. Some people will purchase a house in Kingsbury, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that may be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Kingsbury. The standard information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual question of the owner to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the owner, then a buyer may issue a compensation claim as a result of such an misleading answer. A buyer’s conveyancers should also commission an enviro search. This should disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be carried out.
I moved into my apartment on 8 February and my personal details is not yet registered. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Kingsbury said it should be concluded in a couple of weeks. Are properties in Kingsbury particularly slow to register?
There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Kingsbury registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can differ according to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry must send notices to any interested persons or bodies. At present roughly 80% of submission are completed within two weeks but occasionally there can be protracted hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the new owner has moved in to the premises thus 'speed' is not always top priority yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor must speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I am buying a new build apartment in Kingsbury. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury
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Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan.
In my capacity as executor for the will of my aunt I am disposing of a property in Monmouth but live in Kingsbury. My solicitor (who is 260 kilometers from merequires that I execute a stat dec prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Kingsbury who can witness this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Kingsbury
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Kingsbury home move. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
Having spent years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kingsbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kingsbury property is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.25 years.