I am soon to complete buying a property in Walkington but as a result of damage from a small fire at the property I have was able negotiate reparation from the vendor in the sum of three thousand pounds in the form of a reduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process yet Yorkshire BS are not allowing this. Should they have been informed?

Your conveyancing practitioner that is on a Yorkshire BS approved list is duty bound to inform Yorkshire BS of any changes to the purchase price. If you prohibit your solicitor to disclose the price change to Yorkshire BS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Yorkshire BS and you would have to appoint a new property lawyer for your conveyancing in Walkington.

I am the registered owner of a freehold property in Walkington but nevertheless pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Walkington and has limited impact for conveyancing in Walkington but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the generation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 is to be dispensed with completely.

I am about to put a bid on a leasehold apartment in Walkington. The selling agents say that it is standard for flats in Walkington to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am taking out a mortgage with Tesco Bank. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 72 years to go.

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 7/11/2024 the requirements read as follows :

A colleague informed me that in buying a property in Walkington there may be various restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to the property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Walkington which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Walkington should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Is it the case that all Walkington solicitor firms on the TSB conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the TSB approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Walkington. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £200. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Coventry BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Walkington I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Walkington for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.