My husband and I changing mortgage lender for our apartment in Canonbury with Nottingham. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify 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 property is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Nottingham conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Nottingham. This is solely used to protect Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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.
When it comes to lenders such as Kent Reliance, do Canonbury conveyancers have to pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with HSBC. Canonbury conveyancing solicitors have been selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from HSBC?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have HSBC conducted the survey? Have you advised HSBC as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the HSBC conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
The mortgage over my property is with Nationwide for my property in Canonbury. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nationwide?
Nationwide must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nationwide’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Nationwide will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nationwide directly. You need not do this via a Nationwide conveyancing panel firm.
How does conveyancing in Canonbury differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Canonbury come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because developers in Canonbury usually buy 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 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 Canonbury or who has acted in the same development.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Canonbury I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Canonbury in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?
If you need a home loan that many years will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
Am I better off to go with a Canonbury conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities but her office is 200miles drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Canonbury conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and they were content that must trump using an unfamiliar Canonbury conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.