My fiance and I are refinancing our flat in Thornhill with Kent Reliance. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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 expecting a AIP from UBS this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do UBS recommend any Thornhill solicitors on the UBS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Thornhill solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the UBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and UBS through the process.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Thornhill. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £150. Not long after, the solicitor contacted me to say that they were not on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Yorkshire BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Virgin Money have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Thornhill has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
Your estate agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Contact Virgin Money or the financial adviser and complete any relevant forms. Virgin Money will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to arrange a slot for the valuation to occur. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Virgin Money will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Thornhill.
Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the main reason for obstruction in Thornhill conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Thornhill.
I have recentlyfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Thornhill for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Thornhill conveyancing specialists.
Am I right to be wary by brokers that I am dealing with are suggesting a national conveyancing firm rather than a local Thornhill conveyancing firm?
As with lots of professional services, often input from family and friends can be most helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all put forward lawyers to use. Sometimes these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there may be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of lenders specify a panel list of law firms you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your transaction.
I have today placed an offer on an apartment in Thornhill and the mortgage adviser that we are dealing with suggested his conveyancing practitioner. They quoted a thousand pounds including VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound reasonable?
You should not rely on a single quote. One should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Thornhill. Then pick one that you are comfortable with and crucially, is on the approved list of the mortgage company that you have applied for a mortgage from.