My fiance and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Preston with Skipton. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 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 Skipton. This is solely used to protect Skipton 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 Skipton 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 have agreed to purchase a house in Preston. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. RBS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with RBS your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for RBS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to RBS where a lease fails to meet these conditions. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Preston.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called my Preston bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Preston conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
As long as the conveyancer is on the lender panel, she or he must follow the CML Handbook specifications for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I have finally had an offer on a flat in Preston agreed to, the owners do however have a connected purchase. The sellers have put an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Preston. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with HSBC started?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Preston conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you should ensure that your lawyer is on the HSBC approved list. As to the next phase this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market many buyers would apply for a home loan with HSBC and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancer to proceed with searches.
Will my lawyer be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Preston.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Preston. There are those who purchase a property in Preston, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Preston. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages stemming from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s solicitors will also conduct an environmental report. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be made.
I am buying a new build house in Preston with a mortgage from Santander. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it will put at risk my mortgage with Santander. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Preston I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Preston in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.