My husband and I are planning to purchase a 2 bedroom apartment in Langham with a mortgage. We like our Langham conveyancer, however the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to use one of the lender panel firms or continue with our Langham conveyancer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the bank use our Langham property lawyer ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Langham conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

How does conveyancing in Langham differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Langham approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because new home sellers in Langham typically purchase the land, 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 Langham or who has acted in the same development.

I'm remortgaging my current home to a buy to let loan with Leeds Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on a second property. The neighborhood we are interested in is Langham. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two mortgage companies and link together the conveyances?

Make use of our search tool on this site to be sure that the solicitors are on the relevant lender panels. Having checked that they are the solicitor should be able to connect the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you solicitor and make clear your expectations and needs.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Langham. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Langham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Langham - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the property for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property? It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other major work is pending that will be shared by the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one off invoice.

I own a leasehold flat in Langham. Conveyancing was completed in 2009. I have read on various advice forums that I should not allow the lease length fall too low. Is this correct?

Langham domestic long term leases are for a fixed period - usually ninety nine years when they started. However many flats in Langham were built or converted in the 60’s and so these leases now have under eighty years remaining. This may sound like a long time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies tend to need leases to have at least seventy five years remaining to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to seventy five years. To increase the saleability of your property you should be thinking about whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also advantages to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease is below 80 years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to increase.