My nephew is in the process of securing a new build apartment in St James's with a home loan from Clydesdale. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form 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 Clydesdale conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. 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 Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
In reviewing mumsnet.com for a cheap lawyer in St James's, many advise that I must instruct a CQS assured solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?
The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in home ownership transfers, trusted by some of the UK's biggest mortgage companies. In 2011-12 the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. St James's is one of the many areas of the UK where there are Accredited lawyers.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in St James's prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to grant a loan on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in St James's. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
What tools are available to locate a St James's solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am happy to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the tool on this website. Please choose the mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of St James's conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some St James's conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to verify whether they are on the Virgin Money member panel
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in St James's where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local St James's conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I have given up seeking a lease extension in St James's. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a St James's conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a St James's flat is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.26 years.
My wife and I have just become aware that one of the directors of the solicitors undertaking the purchase conveyancing in St James's is a relative of the seller. Is this acceptable?
Provided there is no conflict of interest this is allowable. Where you are obtaining mortgage finance then the bank may have a say as many banks have specific instructions on this. For example for Barclays plc as of 13/7/2024, the requirements read as follows :