We were just about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Cheadle. We encountered a snag. Our mortgage offer with Leeds Building Society expires on 24/12/2026 but the vendors are suggesting a completion date of 30/12/2026. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage offer?
The person best placed to address this question is your solicitors who is in a position to calculate whether he or she is better off negotiating with the lender, vendor’s solicitors, estate agents or conceivably all three given the history of your conveyancing as of today.
My wife and I are at the point of viewing apartments in Cheadle and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with Co-operative.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Co-operative, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Cheadle. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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 Cheadle solicitor - who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Clydesdale will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Clydesdale 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. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Cheadle postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Cheadle.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Cheadle?
Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Cheadle. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Cheadle differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Cheadle come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because developers in Cheadle typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Cheadle or who has acted in the same development.
I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Cheadle prior to instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Cheadle. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Cheadle especially if they are familiar with such properties in Cheadle.
My husband and I plan to acquire our first property in Cheadle. Conveyancing practitioner already chosen. The financial consultant advised that a survey is not necessary as the property is just 17 years old.
At the very least you should order a Home Buyer's Report. As the residence is over 10 years old the property will not come with a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report could be enough. The report should highlight any obvious issues and recommend further investigation if relevant. Where there are any signs of problems obtain a full Building Survey from the beginning.