My partner and I swapping mortgage lender for our flat in Speke with TSB. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the TSB conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his entitlement to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 TSB. This is solely used to protect TSB 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 TSB 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 had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Speke for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our mortgage lenders Britannia won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?
A lender can direct that an approved conveyancer act for it. Borrowers are expected to bear the charges for this. Do use our database to find a solicitor to conduct conveyancing in Speke on the Britannia approved list of solicitors.
I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of delay in Speke house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Speke.
I'm buying my first flat in Speke benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about the deal as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am looking at a two flats in Speke which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Speke is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Speke conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I purchased a garden flat in Speke, conveyancing having been completed March 2006. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Speke with a long lease are worth £227,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2096
With 72 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Speke. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Speke are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Speke in which case you should be shopping around for a Speke conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.