My partner and I are refinancing our flat in New Addington with Skipton. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Skipton 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 Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton 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 Skipton 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.
Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in New Addington is more expensive?
The conveyancing charges for a leasehold premises in New Addington is inevitably higher when contrasted to a freehold residence. This is because there is an amount of supplemental investigations required in liaising with the landlord and managing agents to collate the evidence concerning whether the rent and service charges have been cleared and whether there are any significant expenditure in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the block.
A friend informed me that in buying a property in New Addington there could be various restrictions preventing external alterations to the property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in New Addington which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in New Addington should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. New Addington conveyancing practitioners are chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Bank of Ireland?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Bank of Ireland conducted the valuation? Have you advised Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in December 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Leeds Building Society are being problematic. The New Addington solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society 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 can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in New Addington 10 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be recorded by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, find your property and get current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for twenty pounds.
How does conveyancing in New Addington differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in New Addington contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because new home sellers in New Addington typically acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in New Addington or who has acted in the same development.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Addington with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Addington can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ conveyancers. If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled. Many landlords or Management Companies in New Addington charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Addington. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a New Addington conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? New Addington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a New Addington conveyancing firm to represent me?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a New Addington conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a New Addington premises is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the figure of £37,912. This case was in relation to 6 flats. The unexpired lease term was 78.32 years.