My wife and I are due to exchange on the purchase of a property in Crawley Down but as a result of wreckage from some water damage at the property I have was able negotiate recompense from the seller in the sum of £3k in the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of a side agreement but Virgin Money will not agree to this. Why were they involved?

Your conveyancer being on the Virgin Money approved list is required to inform Virgin Money of any changes to the sale price. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to report the price change to Virgin Money then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Virgin Money and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Crawley Down.

I am considering refinancing my flat in Crawley Down, does my lawyer have to be on the Nottingham Solicitor panel?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Nottingham will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a garden flat in Crawley Down. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Crawley Down?

On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Crawley Down. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.

A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Crawley Down there may be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Crawley Down which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Crawley Down should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Crawley Down. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Crawley Down I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Crawley Down for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

What makes a Crawley Down lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Crawley Down. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party. Insurance obligations

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Crawley Down Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

For most Crawley Down leaseholds the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Crawley Down ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Are there any major works anticipated that will increase the service fees? Does the lease have onerous restrictions?