I require conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (seven years old) in Little Hampton. 95% of the properties are already disposed of. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Little Hampton?

If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a mortgage, your bank will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Little Hampton conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor, will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you demand that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Little Hampton.

I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Little Hampton. My lender is Virgin

Virgin have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 17/12/2024, the requirements read as follows :

We previously appointed conveyancing lawyers based in Little Hampton on the Aldermore solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional sum for the legal aspects of the Aldermore mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Aldermore?

Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner may charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Aldermore but by your Little Hampton solicitor. Numerous firms on the Aldermore panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Little Hampton solicitor on the Santander panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Santander mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Little Hampton. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

I am purchasing a house and the lawyer has identified Chancel Repair to which the house could be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. She has suggested insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Little Hampton

Unless a prior purchase of the house took place post 12 October 2013 you could expect solicitors conducting conveyancing in Little Hampton to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Little Hampton I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Little Hampton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.