I am about to put an offer on a leasehold apartment in Aldeburgh. The property agents say that it is usual for flats in Aldeburgh to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am taking out a mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. Is this going to be a problem if the lease has Seventy One years unexpired.

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 27/1/2025 the requirements read as follows :

What can a local search reveal regarding the property I am purchasing in Aldeburgh?

Aldeburgh conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searchflow The local search plays an important role in many a Aldeburgh conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject headings.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Aldeburgh with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my lawyer about the deal as it will affect my mortgage with The Mortgage Works. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Should I be wary that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a local Aldeburgh conveyancing company?

As is the case with many professional services, often input from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are lots of players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders might all put forward conveyancers to instruct. Sometimes these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to appoint your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of conveyancers you have to use for the mortgage related work in your conveyancing.

As co-executor for the estate of my father I am disposing of a residence in Newport but live in Aldeburgh. My lawyer (based 300 kilometers from meneeds me to execute a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Aldeburgh who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Aldeburgh