I'm in the process of swapping over from my domestic loan to a BTL Halifax mortgage. The bank has said that I require a lawyer as part of the process. I got in contact with my past Penge conveyancing practitioner who who conducted the conveyancing when I previously purchased the house. The costs illustration sent of £470 has surprised me as its a remortgage than a sale or purchase.
The charges are a bit high. If you you were to look around you could decrease the fees marginally by say £125. On the other hand, if you were pleased with the service the firm gave you mightcome to regret opting for an a cheaper lawyer. If is important to enquire the firm can also act for Halifax. Do employ our search tool to select a Penge conveyancing firm on the Halifax conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Penge.
My husband and I are refinancing our apartment in Penge with UBS. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 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 property is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the UBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 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 UBS 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 UBS. This is solely used to protect UBS 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 UBS 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.
We are selling our home in Penge. Will the conveyancing practitioner have to be required to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the HSBC conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.
Will my lawyer be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Penge.
Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Penge. There are those who purchase a property in Penge, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Penge. The standard property information forms given to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the seller to discover whether the property has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the owner, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect answer. The buyer’s solicitors may also commission an environmental search. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be carried out.
I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Penge I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Penge in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
My husband and I have AIP from Aldermore who said that they will loan up to £350k. When do we need to appoint a solicitor for conveyancing? Penge is where we are purchasing.
It would be wise to appoint a conveyancing practitioner now so that the conveyancing practitioner can open the file so they can do the AML checks etc. Once you wish them to start work you will be asked for a deposit usually about £200. That should generally be after you have the mortgage offer and survey back, nevertheless should you want to expedite the process you can start sooner even though you may be risking some money.