My apartment in Dorchester is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does the conveyancer have to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.

How does conveyancing in Dorchester differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Dorchester approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because new home sellers in Dorchester typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Dorchester or who has acted in the same development.

How do I identify a Dorchester solicitor on the Platform Home Loans Ltd conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the solicitor.

You can use the tool on this website. Please select a bank and your location and you will see a number of Dorchester conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have detailed some Dorchester conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to verify whether they are on the Platform Home Loans Ltd approved list

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Dorchester which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Dorchester is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Dorchester conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Dorchester, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Dorchester with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

With just 59 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

My mother and father are encountering problems in finding their Dorchester land registry title on the site. They recall that 50 years ago when they bought the bungalow there were complications concerning Dorchester not being identified on some systems.

Almost all properties in Dorchester should appear. Have you tried a search to simply the postcode. Usually it should mention all the houses and flats inside that postcode. Where registered it will be there with a title number. Where they bought fifty years ago it's conceivable it may be not yet registered. The property might still be revealed but with the title number shown 'na'. In this scenario you will need to locate the original title documentation which could be with your parent’s lender.