I currently have a mortgage with Santander for my property in Hinckley. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Santander?

Santander must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Santander directly. You need not do this via a Santander conveyancing panel firm.

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Hinckley. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Hinckley conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Hinckley postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Hinckley.

We are buying a house and the lawyer has referenced Chancel Repair to which the property may be obligated to contribute to given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this really required for conveyancing in Hinckley

Unless a previous acquisition of the premises completed after 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Hinckley to continue to propose a a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Hinckley. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Hinckley of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Hinckley. Conveyancing is necessary evil 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 conveyancing.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hinckley

Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

I am attracted to a two flats in Hinckley both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hinckley. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorates and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area.

I inherited a garden flat in Hinckley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Hinckley with over 90 years remaining are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2099

With just 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.