The owners have rather assertive sellers who has recommended a lock out agreement with a payment two thousand pounds. Are such agreements sensible?
This form of agreement isn't common in Sharnbrook, conveyancers are not keen on them as they detract from the main conveyancing focus and if you end up losing your deposit then the solicitor is left exposed. In addition, there is no guarantee that just because the seller has signed an exclusivity contract they will sell to you. They may be tempted to break the contract if they receive a big enough offer to do so because an aggrieved buyer with the benefit of a exclusivity agreement will still have to show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not equate the financial upside that your vendor may obtain by breaching the contract, however morally unworthy the behaviour is.
This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a ground floor flat in Sharnbrook. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Sharnbrook?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Sharnbrook. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to collect the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.
I have a mortgage with Skipton for my property in Sharnbrook. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Skipton?
Skipton must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Skipton’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Skipton directly. You need not do this via a Skipton conveyancing panel firm.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Sharnbrook. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £225. A few days later, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
How does conveyancing in Sharnbrook differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Sharnbrook approach us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because house builders in Sharnbrook tend to purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Sharnbrook or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey done on a house in Sharnbrook prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders will refuse to issue a loan on such a property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Sharnbrook. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
We yesterday become aware that one of the partners of the law firm undertaking the purchase conveyancing in Sharnbrook is an uncle of the vendor. Is this allowed?
Provided there is no conflict of interest this is allowable. Where you are needing mortgage finance then the bank may have a say as many mortgage companies have specific requirements concerning this. For example for Santander as of 12/11/2025, the requirements read as follows :