Our nephew is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Old Stratford with a home loan from Virgin Money. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Do I have to visit the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Old Stratford so that I can attend their offices when needed.
As opposed to 12 years ago, almost all lenders no longer need their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the mortgagors signature. It will still be necessary for you to supply identification documents and there are still manifest benefits to instructing a locally based practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Old Stratford.
My wife and I have a semi-detached Victorian house in Old Stratford. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Old Stratford and other areas of 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 mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.
How does conveyancing in Old Stratford differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Old Stratford contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Old Stratford 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Old Stratford or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Old Stratford ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not grant a mortgage on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Old Stratford. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Old Stratford ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Old Stratford conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
The lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Old Stratford do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Old Stratford - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Who is in charge of the building? It would be sensible to discover if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Old Stratford leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Old Stratford. If you love the flatin Old Stratford however your dog can’t live with you then you will be faced difficult determination. Most Old Stratford leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually in instalments during the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive.