My son-in-law is purchasing a new build apartment in Newquay with a mortgage from Virgin Money. His solicitor 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 engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
As someone not used to conveyancing in Newquay what’s your top tip you can give me concerning the ownership transfer in Newquay
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Newquay and elsewhere in Cornwall is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes a mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Newquay an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the transaction whose interest is to look after your legal interests and to keep you safe.
There is a worrying ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be at fault for the process taking so long. You should always trust your conveyancer ahead of the other players in the home moving process.
is it true that all Newquay solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. The majority of banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
We had appointed solicitors based in Newquay on the Virgin Money solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate fee for dealing with the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Virgin Money?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor may charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Virgin Money but by your Newquay property lawyer. Numerous firms on the Virgin Money panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
It is not clear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Newquay bank branch on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Newquay conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.
The lawyer has to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 provisions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
A friend advised me that where I am purchasing in Newquay I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Newquay conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Newquay around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Newquay.
Am I best advised to use a Newquay conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal work but her office is 400miles drive away.
The benefit of a high street Newquay conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign documents, present your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Newquay know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and the majority were content that must outweigh using an unknown Newquay conveyancing solicitor just because they are based in the area.