I am purchasing a leasehold flat in Hillsborough. My property lawyer is not on the bank conveyancing panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my Hillsborough conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the bank approved list?

One must appoint a property lawyer to complete the formalities when you take out a loan to purchase your property. They will conduct all the appropriate legal checks on the property, make sure that you’re properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the necessary mortgage documentation is in place. You can appoint a Hillsborough lawyer of your choice. Nevertheless, if the conveyancer selected is not on the bank approved list supplemental charges will be incurred as separate legal representation will be required by them. Bank panel applications may be submitted, so provided your conveyancer has not previously applied for membership they should take the opportunity to apply.

Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in Hillsborough?

If you are buying a property in Hillsborough your lawyer will ask you place them with funds to cover the search fees. Generally this is needed to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is as part of the total price then this should be needed immediately in advance of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due should be transferred a few days ahead of the day of completion.

I am purchasing my first flat in Hillsborough with a mortgage from Accord Mortgages Ltd. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent told me not to tell my lawyer about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Hillsborough I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Hillsborough for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hillsborough from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hillsborough can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers.
Some Hillsborough leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. The majority of landlords or managing agents in Hillsborough levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hillsborough.

I purchased a leasehold flat in Hillsborough, conveyancing was carried out June 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Hillsborough with a long lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

You have 62 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.