Property Interviewing Flashcards
(50 cards)
What are the solicitors duties when acting for the buyer?
- Seller has right to sell?
- Adequate for buyers needs?
- Value is accurate?
- Find rights, burdens, 3rd party
- No mortgages/will be discharged
- Contract reflects agreed terms
- Has sufficient money for all costs?
What are the solicitors duties when acting for the Lender?
- Seller has the right to sell
- Condition adequate for lender needs
- Value enough to cover if default
- Rights enjoyed/3rd party
- No other mortgages
- Contract is accurate
- Sufficient funds
- No discrepancies in lenders understanding of borrowers circumstances
- Security document is valid/enforceable
What are the solicitors duties when acting for the Seller?
- Reflects agreed terms
- Liase with BS
- Tie timing to related purchase
- Transfer ownership to buyer
- Collect money
- Repay mortgage
- Give seller rest
What are the seller’s steps pre-exchange
Take instructions
Prepare draft contract
Deduce title
Answer pre-contract enquiries
Answer queries on title
What are the buyer’s steps pre-exchange?
Take instructions
Pre-contract searches
Investigate title and raise queries
Report on title
Approve draft contract
What are the seller’s steps pre-completion
Approve purchase deed
Reply to pre-completion requisitions
Prepare for completion
What are the buyer’s steps pre-completion?
Prepare purchase deed
Pre-completion requisitions
Pre-completion searches
Prepare for completion
What advice should be provided on surveys?
A buyer should always be advised to instruct a surveyor to undertake a physical survey of the property
When accepting instructions to act in a property matter, what conduct issues do you need to consider?
Can you provide a competent and timely service?
Are you authorised to act on your client’s behalf?
Would you have any conflict of interest?
Duty of confidentiality
Duty of disclosure
When can you act where there may be a conflict of interest?
a) The clients have a substantially common interest in relation to the matter or the aspect of it, as appropriate; or
b) The clients are competing for the same objective
What conditions need to be met to act where there may be a conflict of interest?
All the clients have given informed consent, given or evidenced in writing, to you acting;
Where appropriate, you put in place effective safeguards to protect your clients’ confidential information; and
You are satisfied it is reasonable for you to act for all the clients.
What is the duty of disclosure?
Where you are acting for a client on a matter, you make the client aware of all information material to the matter of which you have knowledge…
You give clients information in a way they can understand…
Who deduces Title?
Seller - it then answers pre-contract enquires and then prepares the draft contract
Who investigates title?
Buyer - order and review pre-contract searches, raise pre contract enquiries and then report on title. The buyer’s solicitor will also need to deal with the buyer’s mortgage and approve the draft contract .
What’s involved in the buyer’s title investigation?
check that the seller has the legal right to sell the property
ensure the property is adequate for the buyer’s intended use
ensure that there are no title defects that could affect the value of the property or the ability to sell in future
What is included in the property register?
Property description
Rights benefiting the property
property register - If the property has the benefit of a right of way, what issues must be considered:
registration of the burden
adequacy
maintenance
adoption
property register - What is required for a registered right of way to be enforceable?
the burden must also be registered against the land over which the right of way passes (the servient land)
property register - Why does maintenance of a right of way need to be considered?
a person using a right of way is obliged in common law to contribute towards its maintenance
property register - Why does Adoption need to be considered
if a private road is adopted, then the frontagers are required to pay the costs of bringing the road up to adoptable standard.
Proprietorship register - How will you know if a property is held by Tenants in Common?
The Land Registry will add a restriction to the proprietorship register - e.g.
“no disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court.”
Proprietorship register - who should be asked to sign the contract and execute the transfer deed if all co-owners are living?
All of them
Proprietorship register - who should be asked to sign the contract and execute the transfer deed if one joint tenant is living?
They should be asked to sign the contract and execute the transfer deed.
They should also provide a certified copy of the deceased joint tenant’s death certificate.
Proprietorship register - who should be asked to sign the contract and execute the transfer deed if one tenant in common is living?
They will need to appoint a second trustee (often their solicitor) to sign the contract and execute the transfer deed with them.
Again, they should also provide a certified copy of the deceased tenant in common’s death certificate.
