My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our penthouse in St Helens with Clydesdale. 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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 expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to appoint their panel lawyer as I would prefer to instruct a St Helens based conveyancing firm?
You should check but the the probability is that appoint one of their panel conveyancers should you take up the "fee-free" incentive. Call the lender and check if they make available a monetary alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in St Helens.
I am expecting a OIP from Aldermore this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any St Helens solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint St Helens solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.
I'm in the throws of viewing houses in St Helens and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have a solicitor on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a home loan with TSB.
You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with TSB, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in St Helens. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in St Helens I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St Helens suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner 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. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.
We're FTB’s - agreed a price, yet the selling agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we use their recommended lawyers as they want a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a local conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in St Helens
We suspect that the seller is not behind this ultimatum. If they require ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and explain that (a)you are serious buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred St Helens conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will earn the negotiator at the agency a commission or hit his conveyancing thresholds demanded by corporate headquarters.
My sister purchased her house in St Helens Six years past. She has since got married, divorced and has recently remarried. She now intends to dispose of the St Helens property. I believe she will just be asked to supply copies of the marriage papers to the property lawyer but she is worried it will frustrate the sale of the property. Should she appoint a lawyer to update the Land Registry details for the house?
You are not required to bring up to date the register on the basis that you have the evidence needed to demonstrate how the name change has come about.
Any purchaser’s lawyer should review the registered entries and require evidence to prove the change of name e.g. marriage documentation.