There are plenty of conveyancing solicitors in Hythe but how do I know who's good?

It would be unwise to be tempted by the lowest Hythe conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.

I currently have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Hythe. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

Your original mortgage agreement with Virgin Money will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel firm.

My offer was accepted on a house in Hythe on 5/11/2025, valuation was booked 2 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Are UBS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

My wife and I are downsizing from our property in Hythe and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Hythe. Having lived in Hythe for three years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

The deeds to our home are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Hythe 4 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?

You no longer need to hold title official documentation to establish that you are the registered proprietor of land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Hythe I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Hythe suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Hythe. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hythe should include some of the following:

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? Repair and maintenance of the property Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? The landlord’s rights to access the premises. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hythe - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Many Hythe leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this contribution, normally in instalments during the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared between the leaseholders and could well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a one time payment. You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the property for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease.