I am assisting my mother sell her flat in Ferndale. Does the conveyancing solicitor commission an EPC or should I organise this?

Following the demise of Home Packs, energy performance certificates was kept a mandatory component of selling a property. An energy performance certificate must be to hand in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not something that conveyancers normally arrange. Where you are instructing a Ferndale conveyancing solicitor they may be able to arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with reputable local energy assessors

I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Ferndale. The Ferndale property was put into my name in November. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in November. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. Most lenders would take a pragmatic view as this obligation is chiefly there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.

I currently have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Ferndale. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Lloyds?

You must advise Lloyds prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. You need not do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel lawyer.

I know that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to take this when acquiring a house in Ferndale? or Apparently there is a law dating back centuries that means some house owners living in a parish church boundary may be liable to pay for repairs to the chancel in proximity to the church. Is this a legitimate concern for conveyancing in Ferndale?

Unless a previous acquisition of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you may take it that lawyers delivering conveyancing in Ferndale to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Is it best to go with a Ferndale conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can deal with the legal formalities however her office is 200miles drive away.

The benefit of a high street Ferndale conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and on the whole were content that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Ferndale conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Ferndale conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ferndale conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Ferndale conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be helpful:

Can they put you in touch with clients in Ferndale who can give a testimonial?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Ferndale - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

This information is useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details Where a Ferndale lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. It would be wise to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Ferndale leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Ferndale. If you like the apartmentin Ferndale however your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a hard choice.

We own a leasehold flat in Ferndale. Conveyancing was finalised in five years ago. I have heard that I mustn’t let the lease length fall too low. Is this right?

Ferndale residential long term leases are for a prescribed period - normally ninety nine years when they started. However a significant appartments in Ferndale were constructed or converted in the 70’s80’s and so such leases now have less than eighty years unexpired. That may seem like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies tend to need leases to have at least 75 years unexpired to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing eighty years. To enhance your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore significant benefits to doing so before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.