Me and my husband are buying a maisonette in Church Village. My Conveyancer is not listed on the bank approved list. Am I still permitted to appoint my Church Village conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?

One will need to instruct a property lawyer to deal with the legal work required if you take out a loan to buy your home. They will carry out all the essential legal checks on the property, ensuring that you’re registered as proprietor and ensure that all the necessary mortgage paperwork is in place. You may select a Church Village conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. However, where the property lawyer selected is not a member of the bank conveyancing panel additional costs will arise as separate legal representation will be required by them. Conveyancing panel applications can be submitted, so where your solicitor has not historically applied for membership they should take the chance to apply.

Will my conveyancer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Church Village.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Church Village. There are those who purchase a house in Church Village, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the buyer or by their lawyers which can figure out the risks in Church Village. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the premises has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the seller, then a purchaser may issue a compensation claim stemming from an inaccurate response. A purchaser’s lawyers may also conduct an environmental report. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Church Village I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Church Village in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

There are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Church Village. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Church Village.

Church Village Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to know about it You will want to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. You should not be afraid to ask other people what they think of their service. Finally, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what it includes.

I am expecting to exchange on the purchase a house in Church Village but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have negotiated reparation from the current proprietors of four thousand pounds by way of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process yet the lender will not permit this. Should they have been approached?

Any lawyer listed on a bank approved list is required to inform the bank of any amendments to the purchase figure. In the event that you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to report the reduction to your lender then they would need to disinstructing themselves from acting for you and the lender.