My father informed me that in buying a property in Henfield there may be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?

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

The mortgage over my property is with Virgin Money for my property in Henfield. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

Virgin Money must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will allow you to rent 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 Virgin Money directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Clydesdale are being a right pain. The Henfield solicitor who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Clydesdale are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Clydesdale have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Clydesdale have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Clydesdale may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Henfield and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A high street Henfield conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers used a nationwide conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Henfield. Having lived in Henfield for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Henfield. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Henfield

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

Given that I will soon part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on a house in Henfield I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer about myhouse move ahead of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?

We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer due to be doing your conveyancing in Henfield.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important person, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Henfield should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Henfield. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Henfield.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Henfield - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Be sure to enquire if the the lease contains any adverse restrictions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Henfield. If you like the flatin Henfield but your dog can’t move with you then you will be presented with a hard choice. How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? If a Henfield lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Henfieldlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.