Due to complete my purchase in Bilborough next Tuesday. My lawyer now wants me to supply her with evidence of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the lender. What does the insurance need to cover?

Any lawyer on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 instructions. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in Bilborough.

My wife and I purchased a terraced Victorian house in Bilborough. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. Is it worth asking Accord Mortgages Ltd to clarify?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Bilborough and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Bilborough before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bilborough. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Bilborough ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Bilborough conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Bilborough do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Bilborough Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

This question is useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? How long is the Lease?

I own a leasehold flat in Bilborough. Conveyancing was finalised in five years ago. I have heard that I mustn’t let the the remaining lease term to get too short. Why is that a problem?

Bilborough leasehold properties are for a prescribed period - usually just under one hundred years when they commenced. However many flats in Bilborough were built or converted 30 or more years ago and so these leases now have under 80 years unexpired. This may seem like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders on the whole need leases to have a minimum of 75 years left to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are nearing 75 years. To maximise your property value you should be thinking about whether to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. Furthermore advantages to doing so before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease falls below 80 years the amount you have to pay to extend starts to increase.