Can the conveyancing lawyers to be found on your site execute auction conveyancing in Kidderminster?
We know of a number of auction lawyers we can put you in touch with those who can conduct auction conveyancing. Kidderminster is just one of our areas of in which our lawyers have a presence.
About to place a bid on a leasehold property in Kidderminster. The estate agents assure me that it is standard for flats in Kidderminster to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am taking out a mortgage with Nationwide Building Society. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has 72 years to go.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 17/11/2025 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions
We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
My husband and I have arranged the release of further funds on our home loan from Barclays as we want to carry out alterations to our house in Kidderminster. Do we need to select a local Kidderminster solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?
Barclays would not normally instruct a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Barclays list.
Planning on purchasing a flat in Kidderminster. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Kidderminster property lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on an apartment in Kidderminster accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have put an offer on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Kidderminster. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Barclays?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, Kidderminster conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your property lawyer is on the Barclays approved list. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market the majority of purchasers would apply for the mortgage with Barclays and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with searches.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kidderminster from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kidderminster can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Kidderminster conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Kidderminster charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kidderminster.
I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Kidderminster, conveyancing was carried out in 2001. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Kidderminster with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2082
With 57 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.
I am just shy of a 10% deposit on my house purchase in Kidderminster , but I am anxious exchange. Do I have options?
You can agree a smaller deposit. Many vendors will accept a lesser deposit or even no deposit for a first time buyer or 100% mortgage. Be aware though that if you fail to complete you will still need to hand over a minimum of 10% of the purchase price regardless of how much deposit was agreed.
You can also agree a simultaneous exchange and completion as no deposit is required for this however neither party will be tied in until completion actually takes place and it can be risky if sellers change their mind at the last second