Our grandson is about to exchange on a house that has just been built in Stratford with a mortgage from Kent Reliance. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. 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 Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My bank has recommended a law firm on their panel based in Stratford but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Stratford local to me. Can you assist?
It is by no means the case that all Stratford conveyancing solicitors are on all banks conveyancing panel. Do make use of our find an approved solicitor tool to locate a Stratford conveyancing solicitor on the on the lender panel.
My friend advised me that if I am buying in Stratford I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Stratford conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Stratford around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Stratford Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Stratford.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Stratford 10 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
Assuming you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be held by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to perform a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and get up to date copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing lawyer in Stratford for my home move. Is it possible to see a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?
You may search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.
I only have 62 years left on my flat in Stratford. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Stratford.
Having spent years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Stratford. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to assess the price payable.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Stratford property is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.02 years.