We are about to exchange contracts for a freehold house in Thurmaston. We have hit a problem. The loan offer with Accord Mortgages Ltd runs out on 13/1/2025 but the owners are suggesting a completion date of 15/1/2025. Can one extend the mortgage offer?

The person best placed to address this concern is your conveyancer who is in a position to calculate whether he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage broker, seller’s lawyers, property agents or possibly all three based on the history of your house move as of today.

What does a local search tell me about the property we're buying in Thurmaston?

Thurmaston conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Thurmaston conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search should reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject areas.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Thurmaston with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it may impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I have been pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Thurmaston to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to market your site ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any commission for sending work our way. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Thurmaston where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Thurmaston conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Thurmaston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Who are the managing agents? The majority of Thurmaston leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the management company. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive. The answer will be useful as a) areas can result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have complete disclosure