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Ready to buy a new home in Sidmouth? Failing to check that a lawyer is on your lender’s list of approved solicitors can put your Sidmouth transaction at risk of delay or failure.

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Recently asked questions about conveyancing in Sidmouth

I am about to put a bid on a leasehold property in Sidmouth. The property agents tell me that it is the norm for flats in Sidmouth to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am obtaining a loan with Nationwide Building Society. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 72 years remaining.

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 4/10/2025 the requirements read as follows :

- Our minimum unexpired lease term is 55 years, except where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat, in which case our minimum unexpired term is 90 years.
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).

Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:

Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.

New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer

Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.

SECOND HAND PROPERTIES

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)

Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary

Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges

For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.

* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.

Lease Extensions

We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.

Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.

Do I need to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in Sidmouth?

Unless a prior purchase of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you can assume that solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Sidmouth to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

My company is wishing to lease a unit on a shopping parade. Can you recommend conveyancers offering fixed costs for commercial conveyancing in Sidmouth for under 2k?

We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Sidmouth, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply property. If you are looking to acquire or sell a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we can find you the right solicitor. Regarding the charges this will depend on the structure and heads of terms of the proposed transaction. Please provide us with your contact information or phone so as to enable us to provide you with a detailed commercial conveyancing calculation.

I am using a search engine for the term cheap conveyancing in Sidmouth it shows results of many conveyancersin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancing solicitor for purchase transaction?

The preferential way of finding a suitable conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so seek the counsel of friends and family who have purchased a property in Sidmouth or a respected estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in Sidmouth differ, so it's sensible to secure at least three fee calculations from varying types of law firms. Make sure that you know that the fees are fixed.

My partner and I are purchasing a studio flat in Sidmouth. When we first instructed conveyancing practitioner, they said that they were on all major UK bank panels. The financial adviser emailed yesterday to say that they are not on the Virgin Money approved list. Were it to be true, what should we do? Should we simply pick a different conveyancing practitioner that is on their approved list or do we pay for separate representation, with Virgin Money appointing their own preferred solicitor.

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchaser’s lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a lawyer has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the conveyancing practitioner to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the lawyer has to satisfy. Some building societies now insist their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your conveyancer should call Virgin Money and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on Virgin Money's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Sidmouth solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

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