My husband and I are refinancing our penthouse in Durham with Skipton. We have a son 19 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, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 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 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.
Can you help - my lawyer advises that lack of building regulations insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Durham conveyancing?
The right level of lack of building regulations indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Halifax and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.
How can we tell if a Durham conveyancing solicitor on the RBS panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Durham obtaining recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer handling your transaction.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Durham off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Nationwide. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.
I was recommended by a few selling agents in Durham to get a quote from a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your services over and above another?
We don’t offer any commission for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
Am I best advised to use a Durham conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can execute the legal work however his firm is located 400miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a high street Durham conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Durham know how 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 happy that should trump using an unknown Durham conveyancing solicitor just because they are based in the area.
Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Durham. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Durham who acted for me is not around. What should I do?
First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Durham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Durham, conveyancing having been completed in 2008. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Durham with an extended lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2083
With only 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £21,900 and £25,200 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.