My nephew is in the process of securing a new build apartment in West Ewell with a home loan from Yorkshire BS. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
We're in West Ewell, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Aldermore , and our solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
How does conveyancing in West Ewell differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in West Ewell contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because developers in West Ewell tend to acquire the land, 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 West Ewell or who has acted in the same development.
Am I better off to appoint a West Ewell conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? We have a good friend who can deal with the conveyancing however his firm is located 400kilometers away.
The primary upside of using a local West Ewell conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local West Ewell know how is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and the majority were impressed that should trump using an unfamiliar West Ewell conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.
I own a leasehold flat in West Ewell. Conveyancing was completed in 2009. I have read on numerous advice forums that I mustn’t let the lease length fall too short. What is the reasoning?
West Ewell domestic long term leases are for a prescribed term - normally 99 years when they are first granted. However a significant appartments in West Ewell were built or converted in the 60’s and so these leases now have under 80 years left to run. This may sound like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions tend to need leases to have at least 75 years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing 75 years. To enhance the marketability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. Please note that there are strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease is below eighty years the premium to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.