I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Gosport and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Gosport ?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.
In the event thatI was to acquire a simple residential propertyin Gosport mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Gosport?
Any savings you would achieve will be limited to the Gosport conveyancing searches. Your solicitor still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with your vendors conveyancer, SDLT submission, register the property etc. A slight saving might be made by not having to register a charge however it will not be meaningful.
I have just over seventy years left on my lease and require a lease extension for my apartment in Gosport. Conveyancing solicitors on the Accord Mortgages panel can deal with such extensions correct?
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. Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 8/10/2025 the requirements read as follows :
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Gosport 10 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
Assuming the title is registered the information relating to your ownership will be evidenced by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and order current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.
I am buying a new build house in Gosport with a loan from Britannia. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it may jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Gosport from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gosport can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives. A minority of Gosport leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Gosport state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
Gosport Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
-
This information is helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it What is the length of the lease? It would be a good idea to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Gosport. If you like the propertyin Gosport yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard decision.