How do I discover of the solicitor handling my conveyancing in Southbourne is on the bank’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Platform Home Loans Ltd thus paying £187.00 plus VAT in supplemental legal invoice.

Feel free to take advantage of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this site. Please choose the lender and type ‘Southbourne’ or your preferred area and you will discover numerous solicitors offices in Southbourne or by proximity to you.

I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in Southbourne. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Southbourne of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Southbourne I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Southbourne for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan that many years may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £375,000 apartment in Southbourne on Friday in a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Southbourne?

Southbourne conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Southbourne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Is there a share of the freehold? Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?

Do I cancel my mortgage payments with Leeds Building Society once a completion date for my sale in Southbourne has been set?

No, you should keep paying any mortgage payments to Leeds Building Society until the mortgage is paid off on completion as part of your Southbourne conveyancing.