The Seascale and Sellafield conveyancing firm handling our Seascale and Sellafield conveyancing has uncovered a discrepancy between the surveyor’s assumptions in the valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My solicitor informs me that he needs to check that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s stance right?

Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

I am intent on selling our house in Seascale and Sellafield and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a factory type conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Seascale and Sellafield. We have lived in Seascale and Sellafield for three years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Seascale and Sellafield I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Seascale and Sellafield suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

Are there common problems that you encounter in leases for Seascale and Sellafield properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Seascale and Sellafield. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Seascale and Sellafield Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

This information is useful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure It would be a good idea to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Seascale and Sellafield. If you like the propertyin Seascale and Sellafield but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard compromise. Generally speaking the outlay for major works are not built into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Seascale and Sellafield obliged leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works.

My husband and I are planning to purchase a 2 bedroom bungalowin Seascale and Sellafield with a residential mortgage from a bank. We like our lawyer in Seascale and Sellafield but our mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our bank panel firms or stay with our Seascale and Sellafield conveyancer and incur the extra legals for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our bank use our Seascale and Sellafield lawyer?

No, not really. The bank home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Seascale and Sellafield : a borrower could choose 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. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.