My son is buying a newly built flat in Heston with a home loan from RBS. His conveyancer has said that there is 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 transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the RBS 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 RBS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
My Conveyancer in Heston is not listed on the Coventry Building Society Solicitor Panel. Can I still continue with my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Coventry Building Society panel?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your preferred Heston solicitors but Coventry Building Society will need to retain a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional overall legal charges as well as result in delays.
- Choose a new solicitor to to deal with the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Coventry Building Society approved.
- Try to convince your Coventry Building Society based solicitor to try to join the Coventry Building Society panel
I have todaybeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Heston for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Heston conveyancing specialists.
Taking into account that I will soon part with over three hundred thousand on a terraced house in Heston I would like to talk to a solicitor concerning thehome move prior to giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?
We could not agree more - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor due to be doing your conveyancing in Heston.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a file number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Heston should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Heston both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Heston is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Heston conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Heston conveyancing firm to help?
Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Heston property is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.45 years.