My partner and I are refinancing our penthouse in Hingham with Nationwide. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults 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 two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Nationwide conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Nationwide 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 Nationwide. This is solely used to protect Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Hingham. My lender is Chelsea Building Society
Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 9/5/2024, the requirements read as follows :
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Hingham?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Hingham. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Hingham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Hingham approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because developers in Hingham tend to purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Hingham or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Hingham I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hingham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.