My husband and I intend to remortgage our flat in Tottenham Green with Skipton. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Skipton conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Skipton 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 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.
It is 10 years ago since I purchased my property in Tottenham Green. Conveyancing solicitors have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate my title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?
You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with your lender or they could stored with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in all probability the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Tottenham Green involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as HSBC, do Tottenham Green lawyers incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
is it true that all Tottenham Green solicitor practices on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from UBS as we want to conduct improvements to our property in Tottenham Green. Are we obliged to select a bricks and mortar Tottenham Green solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel to handle the legals?
UBS don't usually instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the UBS list.
Should our lawyer be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Tottenham Green.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Tottenham Green. Some people will purchase a property in Tottenham Green, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Tottenham Green. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to discover if the property has historically flooded. If the residence has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate response. A purchaser’s solicitors may also carry out an environmental report. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be initiated.
Am I better off to go with a Tottenham Green conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can carry out the legal work but they are based over three hundred miles away.
The benefit of a local Tottenham Green conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and they were happy that should surpass using an unknown Tottenham Green conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.