We are a couple about to sign contracts for a freehold house in Blakenhall. We have hit a problem. Our mortgage offer with TSB expires on 17/3/2025 but the owners are suggesting a completion date of 19/3/2025. Is it possible to prolong the loan expiry date?

The person best placed to deal with your issue is your lawyer who will hopefully assess if they corresponding with the mortgage broker, vendor’s solicitors, property agents or conceivably all three given what has gone on in your house move to date.

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Blakenhall? What am I being asked for?

You are right in the requirement set out by your solicitor has nothing to do with conveyancing in Blakenhall. However these days you will not be able to proceed with any conveyancing deal if you have not supplying evidence of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence plus a utility bill. Remember if you are supplying your driving licence as proof of identification it must be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not acceptable in the absence of the other.

Proof of the source of funds is required under Money Laundering Regulations. You should not be offended when when this is requested of you as your lawyer will need to retain this information on file. Your Blakenhall conveyancing practitioner will require evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any money from you into their client account and they may also ask further queries regarding the origin of funds.

I have been told that property searches are a common cause of obstruction in Blakenhall house deals. Is there any truth in this?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Blakenhall.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Blakenhall both have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Blakenhall is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Blakenhall conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Blakenhall Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

For many Blakenhall leaseholds the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Blakenhall ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works. Are there any major works in the near future that will likely add a premium to the service charges? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

My husband and I are buying a 2 bedroom first floor flatin Blakenhall with a loan from a lender. We have selected a lawyer in Blakenhall yet our bank inform us now that she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the our lender panel solicitors or keep our Blakenhall conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The bank mortgage issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. in the past, most banks had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Blakenhall : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.