My mortgage broker has requested my Barrow upon Humber solicitor’s panel member for the Santander conveyancing panel. What is the best way to find this out. I have called my local Barrow upon Humber office but they cant find it on their system.

The sensible thing to do is ask for this information from your Barrow upon Humber conveyancing practitioner . They retain a central record lender panel numbers.

Will our lawyer be raising questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Barrow upon Humber.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Barrow upon Humber. There are those who purchase a property in Barrow upon Humber, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that may be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Barrow upon Humber. The conventional set of property information forms given to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the vendor to find out whether the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect answer. A purchaser’s solicitors may also conduct an enviro report. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be conducted.

My wife and I own a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Barrow upon Humber. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barnsley Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. Is it worth asking Barnsley Building Society to clarify?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Barrow upon Humber and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Barrow upon Humber is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Barrow upon Humber are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Barrow upon Humber you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Barrow upon Humber 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 property.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Barrow upon Humber where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Barrow upon Humber conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Barrow upon Humber, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Barrow upon Humber with a long lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2074

With 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.