Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Workington. Conveyancing is necessary. What happens now?

Now that you are for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should retain a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you now have a pending deadline in which to complete the deal. An auction property should have a corresponding auction set of papers. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork specific to a leasehold property. You need to hand this to the solicitor working for you ASAP. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

A relative advised me that in purchasing a property in Workington there could be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to the property. Is this right?

There are anumerous of properties in Workington which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Workington should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

The mortgage over my property is with RBS for my property in Workington. Conveyancing was finalised months 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 RBS?

Your original mortgage agreement with RBS will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that RBS will permit you to let 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 RBS directly. You need not do this via a RBS conveyancing panel solicitor.

2 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Workington concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

About to purchase a new build flat in Workington. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Workington

Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Workington. I happened to chance upon a site which looks to be the perfect solution If it is possible to get all formalities done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

Last October I purchased a leasehold flat in Workington. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Workington, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Workington with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2085

With only 61 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £18,100 and £20,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.