My partner and I intend to remortgage our penthouse in Oxfordshire with Principality. We have a son 19 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Principality conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Principality conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Principality. This is solely used to protect Principality 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 Principality 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.
I am considering applying for a RBS mortgage for purchase of a new build (under development) in Oxfordshire with 65 per cent LTV. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for RBS ?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the RBS conveyancing panel, but RBS would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
I'm the only recipient of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire property was put into my name in July. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the house in July. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this provision primarily exists to identify subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.
I am expecting a AIP from Bank of Ireland this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Bank of Ireland recommend any Oxfordshire solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Oxfordshire solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Bank of Ireland through the process.
The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Oxfordshire. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I need some fast conveyancing in Oxfordshire as I am under pressure to exchange contracts in less than one month. Luckily I do not need a mortgage. Can I decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?
As you are are a cash buyer you are at free not to do searches although no solicitor would suggest that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Oxfordshire the following are examples of issues that can arise and therefore affect future saleability: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...
I was recommended by two or three local estate agents in Oxfordshire to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your services rather than a competitor’s?
We don’t give any referral fee for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.