My fiancee and I are buying our first home. Our conveyancer has messagedto see if we wish to order supplemental conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's necessary for conveyancing in Heathfield

The scope of Heathfield conveyancing searches depends primarily on the property, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your familiarity of the locality and risks, your overall attitude to risk. What is important is that you adequately comprehend what information the searches could supply. You may then decide if you consider that you need that search. Where you are unsure, ask your conveyancer to provide guidance.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Heathfield?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Heathfield. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Heathfield I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Heathfield for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years may be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Heathfield. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice as you normally would because all rents and service charges should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Heathfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Heathfieldlease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? What is the length of the lease?

My wife and I soon to exchange buying a property in Heathfield but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have agreed recompense from the current proprietors of £2k by way of a adjustment in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however my bank will not agree to this. Why were they involved?

The conveyancing practitioner that is on the lender conveyancing panel is required to disclose to the lender of any changes to the purchase figure. In the event that you were to refuse your lawyer to notify the reduction to your lender then they would have to disinstructing themselves from representing you and the bank.