Me and my partner are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom flat in Poynton with a mortgage. We have a Poynton conveyancer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or keep our Poynton lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Poynton conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Poynton I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Poynton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.

Are there any apps to assist me to locate a Poynton law firm on the Accord Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am prepared to travel upto 10miles to meet the solicitor.

You can use the facility on this page. Please pick a bank and your location and you will see a number of Poynton conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Poynton conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to verify if they are on the Accord Mortgages Ltd member panel

As co-executor for the estate of my grandfather I am selling a property in Monmouth but reside in Poynton. My solicitor (approximately 260 kilometers awayneeds me to sign a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Poynton to witness this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are located in Poynton

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Poynton both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Poynton is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Poynton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Poynton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared amongst the tenants and may well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific invoice. The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.