My lawyer has informed me that restrictive coveneant insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Maryport?

The appropriate level of restrictive coveneant indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Santander and Chelsea Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

I'm in the throws of looking at houses in Maryport and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancing practitioner in place at this stage? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Clydesdale.

You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Clydesdale, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with UBS. I assume I don't need a Maryport conveyancer on the UBS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your UBS 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 UBS mortgage from the register. UBS, 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 UBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. UBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the main reason for hinderance in Maryport house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Maryport.

How does conveyancing in Maryport differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Maryport approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Maryport usually 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 Maryport or who has acted in the same development.

I decided to have a survey done on a property in Maryport before retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to grant a loan on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Maryport. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Maryport to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Maryport. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Maryport Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? How long is the Lease? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders have control and although a managing agent is often employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.