I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Ilfracombe. My lender is Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 31/8/2025, the requirements read as follows :

My wife and I own a semi-detached Georgian property in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ilfracombe and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Ilfracombe prior to instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not grant a loan on this type of home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Ilfracombe to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

As co-executor for the estate of my grandmother I am selling a house in Monmouth but reside in Ilfracombe. My solicitor (approximately 250 miles from meneeds me to sign a stat dec ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Ilfracombe who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Ilfracombe based

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

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ilfracombe can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Ilfracombe home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later. Many freeholders or managing agents in Ilfracombe charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ilfracombe. A minority of Ilfracombe leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

Ilfracombe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?