My lawyer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying in Bexhill On Sea. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer has advised that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Bexhill On Sea.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Bexhill On Sea. There are those who acquire a property in Bexhill On Sea, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Bexhill On Sea. The standard information supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual question of the owner to discover whether the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser could issue a claim for damages stemming from an misleading response. A purchaser’s lawyers should also commission an enviro report. This will disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be made.

I am purchasing my first flat in Bexhill On Sea benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my lawyer about this extras as it could affect my loan with the bank. 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Bexhill On Sea where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Bexhill On Sea conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Bexhill On Sea Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

It would be sensible to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending that money. What prohibitions are contained in the Bexhill On Sea Lease? Please note that where the lease has less than eighty years it will affect the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Bexhill On Sealease extensions you will be required to have owned the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease.

I note that you have a post code search directory listing firms on the lender conveyancing panel. Do Bexhill On Sea conveyancing companies pay you a commission if I appoint them for my own conveyancing?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Bexhill On Sea.