Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Battle costs more?

Battle leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

My colleague advised me that if I am purchasing in Battle I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Battle conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Battle around the property and the people living there. It includes 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 Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Battle.

I am purchasing a new build house in Battle with a mortgage from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The sellers would not budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it will impact my mortgage with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Battle is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Battle are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Battle you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Battle may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Battle both have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Battle. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorates and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Battle, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Battle with a long lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2075

With 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.