My wife and I changing mortgage lender for our flat in Montacute with Nottingham. We have a son approaching twenty who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Nottingham conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise 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 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.
It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Montacute. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to find the title deeds. Will this cause complications?
You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they may stored with the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Montacute relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Montacute?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Montacute. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Montacute differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Montacute contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because developers in Montacute typically purchase the real estate, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Montacute or who has acted in the same development.
I was pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Montacute to choose a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers over and above another?
We refuse to give any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.