I am about to put a bid on a leasehold property in Burntwood. The estate agents assure me that it is standard for flats in Burntwood to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am expecting a mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 69 years unexpired.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 23/11/2025 the requirements read as follows :
My wife and I are buying a apartment in Burntwood. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I am buying a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Burntwood. The intention is to carry out an extension to the side at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve investigations to determine if these alterations are permitted?
Your conveyancer will review the deeds as conveyancing in Burntwood will sometimes reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent categories of alterations or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Some extensions require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
Is it the case that all Burntwood solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.
Me and my brother own a renovated Georgian house in Burntwood. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Santander. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Burntwood and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.
I'm buying my first flat in Burntwood benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it may adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.
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 sourcing a conveyancing solicitor in Burntwood for my purchase. Is there any facility to check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Anyone may see presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor call for training requirements.
My folks are encountering problems in finding their Burntwood land registry title on the website. They recall that back in the 60’s when they bought the bungalow there were complications concerning Burntwood not being recognised in some systems.
The vast majority of premises in Burntwood should show up. Have you limited your search with simply the postcode. Usually it should identify all the properties inside that postcode. Assuming the property is recorded it will be there with a title number. Where they bought back in the 70’s it's conceivable it may be unregistered. The property may still be revealed but with the title number shown 'na'. In this scenario you will need to locate the original title papers which might be with your parent’s lender.