IfI was to buy a freehold propertyin Hastings for cash and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Hastings?

Any savings you would make will be isolated to the disbursement for searches. Your conveyancing practitioner is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with your sellers property lawyer, stamp duty submission, register the ownership etc. A marginal saving might be made by not needing to register a charge but it will not be meaningful.

Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Hastings. My lender is The Mortgage Works

The Mortgage Works have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 14/1/2026, the requirements read as follows :

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Hastings I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hastings for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

Do I need to be wary about estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending an internet conveyancing firm rather than a local Hastings conveyancing company?

As with lots of service providers, often suggestions from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. But there are many players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all put forward lawyers to select. Sometimes these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there exists a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are at liberty to appoint your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that most banks operate an approved list of solicitors you must use for the mortgage related work in your house move.

I only have Sixty One years left on my lease in Hastings. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hastings.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hastings - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Make sure you enquire if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Hastings leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Hastings. If you like the flatin Hastings yet your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard choice. Generally speaking the cost for major works are not built into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Hastings ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Is there a share of the freehold?