We are a couple about to exchange contracts for a garden flat in Southbourne. We have hit a stumbling block. Our mortgage offer with Leeds Building Society expires on 21/1/2025 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 23/1/2025. Can one prolong the mortgage offer?

The person best placed to deal with your question is your lawyer who will determine whether he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage broker, seller’s solicitors, estate agents or conceivably all three based on what has gone on in your conveyancing as of today.

We see that you have a search directory listing law firms on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Southbourne?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Southbourne.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to use their panel solicitor as I would prefer to appoint a Southbourne based conveyancing firm?

Do check but the the likelihood is that give you one of their panel solicitors if you want the "fee-free" incentive. Call the lender and explore if they make available a monetary alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case you could put that amount towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor in Southbourne.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Southbourne which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Southbourne is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 a residence 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 Southbourne conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Southbourne - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Southbourne.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as you normally would as all rents and service payments will be allottedon completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process