My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our flat in Blackfriars with Co-operative. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Co-operative conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Co-operative. This is solely used to protect Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Blackfriars 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?
As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your proprietorship will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, find your house and order current copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.
Am I better off to choose a Blackfriars conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can carry out the conveyancing but they are based over three hundred miles away.
The benefit of a high street Blackfriars conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, present your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and the majority were content that must surpass using an unknown Blackfriars conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Blackfriars. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Blackfriars ?
The majority of houses in Blackfriars are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Blackfriars in which case you should be looking for a Blackfriars conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Blackfriars conveyancing firm to help?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Blackfriars premises is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.8 years.
My husband and I are purchasing a ground floor flat in Blackfriars. When we first instructed conveyancing practitioner, they said that they were on all mainstream bank panels. Our financial adviser contacted us today to advise that they don't appear to be on the Skipton approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Should we simply pick a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or should we cover the costs for separate representation, with Skipton selecting their own preferred conveyancing practitioner.
If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the buyer’s solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a solicitor has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the property lawyer has to meet. Some banks now insist their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your conveyancer should contact Skipton to discover if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on Skipton's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Blackfriars lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another conveyancing practitioner into the mix.