My wife and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Motspur Park with . 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 forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights 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 . This is solely used to protect 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 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.
What happens if my solicitor is removed from the Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Motspur Park?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I require expedited conveyancing in Motspur Park as I am under pressure to exchange contracts inside one month. A home loan is not required. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
If.Given you are are a cash purchaser you are at free not to have searches carried out although no solicitor would suggest that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Motspur Park the following are examples of what can arise and therefore affect future saleability: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Charges, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Motspur Park. Now, I need the files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Motspur Park of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
My step-father has urged me to instruct his lawyers for conveyancing in Motspur Park. Should I find my own solicitor?
No doubt the best way to find a conveyancing solicitor is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually experience in using the firm that you are considering.