I am buying a house without a mortgage in Grasmere. I have been living for the previous Seventeen years in Grasmere. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I know the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a mortgage, then almost all of the Grasmere conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but he is duty bound to take that path of encouragement . One thing to take into account; if you are intend to sell the house in the future, it may be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with day to day issues can still throw up negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Grasmere will be able to give you some practical guidance here.

It is 10 years ago since I purchased my house in Grasmere. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down my title deeds. Is this a major issue?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Grasmere involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from HSBC as we intend to conduct alterations to our house in Grasmere. Are we obliged to select a high street Grasmere solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

HSBC do not ordinarily require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the HSBC list.

I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Bank of Ireland are being problematic. The Grasmere solicitor who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Bank of Ireland are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Bank of Ireland have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Bank of Ireland have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Bank of Ireland may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Grasmere on 26/1/2023, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nationwide and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nationwide to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Grasmere. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Grasmere and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

We expect to complete the sale of our £200,000 apartment in Grasmere next Tuesday. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Grasmere?

Grasmere conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled to invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

Grasmere Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Is there a share of the freehold? What prohibitions are there in the Grasmere Lease?