We were just about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Okehampton. We have hit a snag. The mortgage offer with Yorkshire Building Society runs out on 30/5/2023 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 1/6/2023. Can one extend the mortgage expiry date?

The best person to deal with your concern is your conveyancer who should calculate if he or she is better off negotiating with the bank, owner’s solicitors, selling agents or indeed all three given what has gone on in your transaction to date.

It is is a decade since I acquired my property in Okehampton. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they could still be with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Okehampton involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more tricky but is resolvable.

is it true that all Okehampton solicitor firms on the Nationwide conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

How can we know in advance if a Okehampton conveyancing solicitor on the Coventry BS panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Okehampton obtaining recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always suggest that you speak with the lawyer handling your transaction.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Okehampton. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the number one cause of hinderance in Okehampton conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Okehampton.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Okehampton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Okehampton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Okehampton - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block? How is the lease structured?