Is it necessary to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when buying a house in Heathfield?

Unless a prior purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you may assume that conveyancing practitioners handling conveyancing in Heathfield to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Heathfield benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the extras as it will jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Heathfield. I've chance upon a site which looks to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all formalities completed via web that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Heathfield. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Heathfield.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Heathfield, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Heathfield with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

With only 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

We own a leasehold flat in Heathfield. Conveyancing was finalised in 2009. I have read on various advice forums that I mustn’t allow the the remaining lease term to get too short. What is the reasoning?

Heathfield domestic long term leases are for a fixed term - often just under one hundred years when they started. However many appartments in Heathfield were built or converted 25 or more years ago and so these leases now have under eighty years remaining. This may sound like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies tend to need leases to have at least 75 years unexpired to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are approaching eighty years. To optimize your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease falls below 80 years the amount you have to pay to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.