The vendors of the property we are purchasing are using a conveyancing practitioner in Wrington who has suggested a lock out agreement with a down payment of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?

Lock out agreements are agreements between a property seller and purchaser granting the buyer exclusive rights to the sale of the property for a set period of time. For all intents and purposes, a lock out agreement is a contract stating that you should have a contract at a later date being the contract for the actual sale. It is generally used for buyer confidence though in many situations, the proprietor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to having them but you need to check with your lawyer but beware that it may end up costing you extra in conveyancing fees. For this these agreements are not popular when it comes to conveyancing in Wrington.

I currently have a mortgage with RBS for my property in Wrington. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property 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 in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’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 RBS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a RBS conveyancing panel firm.

I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in March 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Principality are being pedantic. The Wrington solicitor who is on the Principality conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Principality are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Principality have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Principality have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Principality may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

My offer was accepted on an apartment in Wrington on 23/6/2025, valuation was booked 2 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Clydesdale and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Clydesdale to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Wrington is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Wrington are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Wrington you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wrington may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Wrington. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wrington ?

Most houses in Wrington are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Wrington so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Wrington conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

Wrington Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

It would be sensible to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours if they are happy with their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Wrington obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. The majority of Wrington leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied by the freeholder. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive.

My partner and I about to exchange buying a house in Wrington but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have negotiated recompense from the owner of £3k by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process yet the lender will not permit this. Why were they approached?

Your property lawyer being on a lender approved list is duty bound to inform the mortgage company of any amendments to the purchase figure. In the event that you were to refuse your lawyer to notify the price change to your lender then they would have to refrain from acting for you and the bank.