We were just about to exchange contracts for a property in Alsager. We encountered a problem. Our mortgage offer with Alliance & Leicester runs out on 23/10/2026 but the sellers are suggesting a completion date of 27/10/2026. Can one prolong the mortgage offer?
The person best placed to address this issue is your conveyancer who should determine if he or she is should be discussing with the lender, vendor’s lawyers, selling agents or possibly all parties given the history of your transaction as of today.
I currently have a mortgage with RBS for my property in Alsager. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform RBS?
You must advise RBS before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact RBS directly. You need not do this via a RBS conveyancing panel firm.
I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Alsager. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £150. A few days later, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Alsager solicitor - who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Nottingham will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nottingham will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Alsager surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
I have recentlyfound out that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Alsager for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The easiest method to see if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Alsager conveyancing specialists.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Alsager I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Alsager suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
In what way can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Alsager and how can you help?
The 1954 Act provides a safeguard to business lessees, giving them the right to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease reaches an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing solicitors who use the act to your advantage and help with commercial conveyancing in Alsager
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the mortgage company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the lender conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the bank solicitor panel.