Due to move into my new home in Botany Bay next Tuesday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the mortgage company. What does the insurance need to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook instructions. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in Botany Bay.
Finally the sale completed on my house in Botany Bay last June but our buyer keeps Skype messaging every few hours to say her conveyancer needs to hear from mylawyer. What should have happened following completion?
Post completion of your disposal your solicitor should deliver the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Where appropriate, your solicitor should also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion formalities peculiar conveyancing in Botany Bay.
About to place a bid on a leasehold flat in Botany Bay. The estate agents advise that it is normal for flats in Botany Bay to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am getting a mortgage with Nationwide Building Society. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has Seventy One years left.
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. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 8/6/2026 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions
We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
We are purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Botany Bay. The intention is to convert the garage to a playroom at the house.Will legal conveyancing on the property include enquiries to determine if these works are permitted?
Your property lawyer will check the deeds as conveyancing in Botany Bay will sometimes identify restrictions in the title documents which prevent certain works or require the permission of another owner. Many works need local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be wise to check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.
We previously appointed conveyancers located in Botany Bay on the Leeds Building Society solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional sum for the legal aspects of the Leeds Building Society mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Leeds Building Society?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Leeds Building Society but by your Botany Bay conveyancer. Some firms on the Leeds Building Society panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some practices include it on their overall fee.
Our sealed bid on a property in Botany Bay has been accepted, the owners do however have a dependent purchase. The owners have offered on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Botany Bay. What do I do now? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Barclays?
It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, Botany Bay conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is check that your solicitor is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a hot market many buyers will apply for a home loan with Barclays and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their property lawyer to press on with the conveyancing in Botany Bay.
I decided to have a survey completed on a property in Botany Bay in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some banks will refuse to give a loan on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Botany Bay. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
I work for a reputable estate agency in Botany Bay where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Botany Bay conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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 buyer.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Botany Bay conveyancing firm to help?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Botany Bay conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Botany Bay residence is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 70.31 years.