My wife and I are approaching an exchange on a property in Nailsworth and my mum and dad have transferred the 10% deposit to my property lawyer. I am now told that as the deposit has not come from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my bank. I am advised that, in also acting for the mortgage company he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the mortgage company concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for this now to hold matters up?

The solicitor is obliged to check with mortgage company to ensure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only reveal this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Is there a search tool that I can use to discover of the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Nailsworth is on the bank’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Britannia thus spending £192.00 in supplemental conveyancing fees.

You should take advantage of the find a lender approved solicitor tool on this page. Pick the mortgage company and type ‘Nailsworth’ or your preferred area and you will see a number of lawyer offices in Nailsworth or near you.

I am helping my step-mother sell her flat in Nailsworth. Does the conveyancer order the energy assessment or it is for me to see to?

After the demise of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was kept a required component of selling a house. An EPC must be commissioned in advance of the property being marketed. This is not a task that law firms normally organise. If you are instructing a Nailsworth conveyancing lawyer they may be willing to arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with long established Nailsworth accredited person

I am buying a property in Nailsworth. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Nottingham have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

As you are obtaining a mortgage with Nottingham your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements set out in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nottingham. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Nottingham where a lease does not satisfy these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Nailsworth.

We were going to get a OIP from HSBC this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do HSBC recommend any Nailsworth solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Nailsworth solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the HSBC conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and HSBC through the process.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Nailsworth before retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Nailsworth. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Nailsworth with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Nailsworth can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ conveyancers.
A minority of Nailsworth leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Nailsworth state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

Nailsworth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How much is the ground rent and service charge? This information is helpful as a) areas can result in problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have complete disclosure If a Nailsworth lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease.