Our god-son is buying a newly built flat in Walworth with a mortgage from RBS. His solicitor 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 RBS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor 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 RBS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Walworth. Conveyancing is required. What is next?
Having legally committed yourself to purchase you must hire the services of a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are facing a pending deadline in which to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding auction set of papers. This should include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer requires. In the case of leasehold property the legal pack should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork relating to a leasehold property. You should give this to the lawyer instructed by you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete on the on the contractual date .
My wife and I have organised the release of further monies on our home loan from RBS as we intend to conduct a loft conversion to our house in Walworth. Are we obliged to choose a high street Walworth solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
RBS don't usually require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the RBS list.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Leeds Building Society. I assume I don't need a Walworth lawyer on the Leeds Building Society panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Leeds Building Society mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Leeds Building Society mortgage from the register. Leeds Building Society, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Leeds Building Society has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Leeds Building Society has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Walworth?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Walworth. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Walworth differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Walworth approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because builders in Walworth usually buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Walworth or who has acted in the same development.
I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Walworth for my home move. Can I check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?
Members of the public can read presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors record, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could monitor telephone calls for training purposes.
Two months into a sale of a flat in Walworth. Conveyancing is fine but we are being charged an extortionate amount by the freeholder. So far we have issued a cheque for £268 for a leasehold management information and then a further £134.40 for additional queries supplied by the purchaser's property lawyer.
Neither you or your solicitor will have any impact over the level of the fee for this information however the average costs for the information for Walworth leasehold property is £380. When it comes to Walworth conveyancing sales it is standard for the vendor to cover the costs. The landlord or their agents are under no statutory obligation to answer such questions most will be content to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices out of proportion to the work involved. Regretfully there is no legislation that requires capped fees for administrative tasks. There is no set time limit by which they are obliged to provide the information.