Our son-in-law is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Camden with a home loan from UBS. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the UBS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. 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 UBS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in Camden?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Camden your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. Normally this is asked for to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is as part of the sale price then this will be required shortly ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be transferred shortly before completion.
I moved into my home on 13 July and the transaction details is yet to be on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Camden said it would be dealt with inside ten days. Are titles in Camden uniquely lengthy to register?
As far as conveyancing in Camden is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in the country. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry must send notices to any other persons or bodies. As of today in the region of 80% of submission are fully addressed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to protracted hold-ups. Registration is effected once the new owner is living at the property therefore an expedited registration is not typically top priority yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers should contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Camden I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Camden in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
I work for a reputable estate agency in Camden where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Camden conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I inherited a garden flat in Camden. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?
Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Camden conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Camden property is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 64.77 years.