My partner and I are purchasing a newly constructed duplex in Hoyland and my solicitor is telling me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I have no desire to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

I am selling my house in Hoyland. Does the conveyancer have to be required to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently currently.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Hoyland in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Hoyland. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Hoyland especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Hoyland.

We're first time buyers - had an offer accepted, but the selling agent advised that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint their chosen solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Hoyland

It is highly unlikely the owners are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a serious buyer is going to damage their objectives. Contact the vendors directly and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to use your preferred Hoyland conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will give their estate agent a commission or meet his conveyancing targets pre-set by HQ.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Hoyland where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Hoyland conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Hoyland Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details The majority of Hoyland leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. If you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically during the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a significant figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. Are there any major works in the planning that could increase the maintenance fees?