My fiance and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Old Ford with Virgin Money. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 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 Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Coventry BS Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Old Ford?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
My wife and I have a renovated Edwardian property in Old Ford. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Old Ford 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 buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.
How does conveyancing in Old Ford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Old Ford contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Old Ford typically buy the real estate, 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 conveyancers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Old Ford or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Old Ford I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Old Ford suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.
How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial property in Old Ford and how can you help?
The 1954 Act affords a safeguard to business tenants, giving them the dueness to make a request to court for a renewal lease and continue in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing solicitors who use the act to your advantage and assist with commercial conveyancing in Old Ford