Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Street. Is there a reason why all Street solicitors aren't included on all mortgage company panels?
A decade ago most lenders had an approach to risk which differs from the current day. The FSA in 2010 instigated a thematic review into mortgage fraud which in summary warned lenders: know the conveyancing practitioners on your panel. As a result, lenders have subsequently looked to extract more data from law firms concerning their processes and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such as completing a minimum amount of transactions. Thousands of law practices have found themselves removed from lender panels even though they had 100% healthy disciplinary record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms found it impossible satisfy the criteria of volume of transactions the lenders required.
My wife and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Street with Yorkshire BS. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults 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 property is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 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 Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS 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 have been told that property searches are a common reason for stalling in Street conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Street.
The deeds to my property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Street 10 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
You no longer need to have the physical deeds to establish that you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.
I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Street before appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks may not issue a loan on a flying freehold home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Street. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Street to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.