Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Lifton. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Lifton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

How does conveyancing in Lifton differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Lifton contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because builders in Lifton typically buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Lifton or who has acted in the same development.

We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent has warned us that the seller will only issue a contract if we appoint their recommended solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Lifton

We suspect that the seller is not behind this request. If they want ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine buyer is not the way to achieve this. Avoid the agents and go straight to the owners and explain that (a)you are genuine purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you are going to use your preferred Lifton conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a commission or achieve conveyancing targets pre-set by senior management.

Last May I purchased a leasehold house in Lifton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Lifton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Are there any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the maintenance costs? Most Lifton leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building set by the freeholder. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

I have just found out that one of the directors of the conveyancing practice handling the purchase conveyancing in Lifton is a relative of the seller. Is this allowed?

Provided no conflict arises this should be fine. If you are obtaining mortgage finance then the bank may have a say as many banks have specific requirements on this. For example for Barclays plc as of 3/10/2024, the requirements read as follows :