My wife and I own a terraced Edwardian house in Blandford Forum. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Virgin Money. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Virgin Money to clarify?

You should assess 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 Blandford Forum and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.

I decided to have a survey done on a property in Blandford Forum in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders tend refuse to grant a loan on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Blandford Forum. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Do I need to be wary about brokers that I am dealing with are suggesting an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Blandford Forum conveyancing company?

As is the case with many service providers, often recommendations from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are numerous players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all put forward lawyers to select. Sometimes the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there might be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that many mortgage providers have an approved list of lawyers you must use for the mortgage aspect of your house move.

Last August I purchased a leasehold property in Blandford Forum. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Blandford Forum - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

It would be sensible to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will either make your living at the property much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. You should not be afraid to ask other people what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

We have been advised by various family members to expect 6-8 weeks for Blandford Forum conveyancing to complete.This was 3 ago. The draft contract was only forwarded to my property lawyer yesterday so now does it countdown?

There is no conventional timeframe for conveyancing in Blandford Forum, or any location. You just have to ensure that your finances are in order and wait for the rest to come to you eventually.