Is the fact that my conveyancer in Sandhurst is not listed on my lender's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Sandhurst conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Sandhurst with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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.
I am selling our home in Sandhurst and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used an internet conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Sandhurst. Having lived in Sandhurst for three years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)
Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Sandhurst. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 legal work.
Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Sandhurst
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Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Please supply a car parking plan. 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. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in Sandhurst I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Sandhurst suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
If you require a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I am due to review costs for conveyancing in Sandhurst from various conveyancing practitioner and decide on one. Do I instruct them to sit tight until I have found somewhere to purchase.
You should wait to get your lawyer to commence work and order searches after the sales memorandum has been sent by the selling agent especially as Sandhurst conveyancing searches are not cheap.