My wife and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Carlisle with a mortgage. We like our Carlisle lawyer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to use one of the mortgage company panel firms or continue with our Carlisle conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; are we not able to require that the mortgage company use our Carlisle conveyancer ?

No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Carlisle conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in Carlisle. Now, I need the documents however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Carlisle 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 am purchasing my first flat in Carlisle with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it will put at risk my mortgage with The Mortgage Works. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Carlisle I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Carlisle for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Carlisle. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Carlisle Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details What restrictions are there in the Carlisle Lease? You should be aware that where the lease has less than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Carlislelease extensions you will need to own the property for 24 months before you are eligible to extend the lease.