I have just been advised by my mortgage broker that my Burton upon Trent property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. How can I be sure that this is correct?
Your first step should be to call your Burton upon Trent conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Burton upon Trent conveyancing firm that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.
My husband and I changing mortgage lender for our flat in Burton upon Trent with Virgin Money. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement 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 Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.
Should our solicitor be raising questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Burton upon Trent.
Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Burton upon Trent. Some people will acquire a property in Burton upon Trent, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which should figure out the risks in Burton upon Trent. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to find out whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer may issue a legal claim for losses resulting from an misleading reply. A buyer’s conveyancers will also carry out an enviro search. This will disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be initiated.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home can not be found. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Burton upon Trent 10 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be documented by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to carry out a search at the Land Registry, find your house and order up to date copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.
How does conveyancing in Burton upon Trent differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Burton upon Trent contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because house builders in Burton upon Trent tend to purchase the site, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Burton upon Trent or who has acted in the same development.