We are about to exchange contracts for a garden flat in Fenham. We encountered a stumbling block. The loan offer with Santander expires on 26/2/2026 but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of 2/3/2026. Can one extend the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to deal with your concern is your conveyancer who is in a position to determine whether he or she is corresponding with the bank, vendor’s solicitors, selling agents or possibly all three taking into account the circumstances your conveyancing to date.
I can see plenty of information on this site regarding conveyancing in Fenham but what is your top tip for finding the right conveyancer in Fenham
Do not opt for the cheapest Fenham conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
My partner and I have arranged a further advance on our home loan from TSB as we intend to conduct renovations to our property in Fenham. Do we need to select a nearby Fenham solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
TSB would not normally instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the TSB list.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Fenham. I have a mortgage agreed with Co-operative. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.
I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Fenham. I now require my papers but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Fenham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one near me in Fenham I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Fenham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Fenham with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fenham can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers. A minority of Fenham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Fenham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Fenham charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fenham. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Fenham - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Who are the managing agents?
My husband and I are planning to purchase a four room flatin Fenham with a residential mortgage from a mortgage company. We have selected a lawyer in Fenham but our lender advise he's not approved on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the our mortgage company panel firms or stay with our Fenham conveyancer and incur the extra costs for one of their panel ones to represent our lender. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The lender mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Fenham : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.