We are buying a purpose built apartment in Liphook with a homeloan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd.We would like to retain our Liphook conveyancing solicitor but Godiva Mortgages Ltd advised that his firm is not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Godiva Mortgages Ltd panel lawyer or retain our local solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, a common one being that solicitors must be on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Godiva Mortgages Ltd

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Liphook I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Liphook in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

How simple is it to swap conveyancer as I have to choose a firm on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. I was using a high street conveyancing solicitor in Liphook five minutes from me but she is not accepted by Virgin Money

It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Liphook on the Virgin Money panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we on the directory do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Liphook. In making use of search facility on this page, you can contrast costs for conveyancing solicitors in Liphook and beyond.

As co-executor for the estate of my grandmother I am selling a property in Cardiff but I am based in Liphook. My solicitor (based 300 miles awayhas requested that I sign a stat dec before completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Liphook who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are based in Liphook

There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Liphook. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Liphook.

Liphook Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Liphooklease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. How many years remain on the lease? How is the lease structured?