I am buying a property mortgage free in Carlisle. I have resided for the last twelve years in Carlisle. Conveyancing searches are expensive. As I know the area and road intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Carlisle conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your conveyancer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of encouragement . Do consider; if you are going to dispose of the house one day, it may be of interest to your future purchaser what the searches disclose. On occasion properties with functional issues can still throw up negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Carlisle should be able to give you some sensible advice here.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Carlisle. Conveyancing is needed. What are my next steps?

Given that you are now legally bound yourself to purchase you must choose a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of urgency as you are facing a tight deadline in which to complete the transaction. Every auction property will ordinarily have an associated auction set of papers. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that your finances are in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Carlisle. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nottingham panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Carlisle property lawyer having checked that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Carlisle surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I decided to have a survey done on a house in Carlisle prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Carlisle. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Carlisle especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Carlisle.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Carlisle what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Carlisle is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Carlisle - Sample of Queries before buying

Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that could add a premium to the service fees? Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?

My lawyers in Carlisle have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the lender. Is it case that being on the bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?

Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the mortgage company Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the mortgage company directly.