My wife and I own a terraced Edwardian house in Penwortham. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Birmingham Midshires. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Penwortham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Penwortham I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Penwortham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Penwortham and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Penwortham. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Penwortham area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Penwortham. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Penwortham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Penwortham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property? What prohibitions are contained in the Penwortham Lease? It would be wise to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds.

My brother mentioned that before selecting a conveyancing solicitors they need approved by your lender. I am a FTB but I have an AIP via Santander and I already have a local conveyancing lawyer in Penwortham at the ready. Can Birmingham Midhshires need an approved lawyer to be instructed? If so, where do I find that list so I can choose a conveyancing lawyer in Penwortham?

You need to use a solicitor that is on the Birmingham Midhshires panel. Just ring your preferred Penwortham conveyancing solicitor to check if they are on the Birmingham Midhshires panel. If they are not on the panel you have a number of choices open to you here:

• Complete the deal with your preferred Penwortham conveyancing practitioner but Birmingham Midhshires will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner from their conveyancing panel. This will result in additional charges and probable frustration.
• Get a fresh conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the Birmingham Midhshires conveyancing panel.
• Appeal to your solicitor to apply to join the mortgage company panel.