We are a couple about to sign contracts for a semi detached house in Gower. We encountered a snag. Our mortgage offer with Platform Home Loans Ltd expires on 10/10/2025 but the owners are insisting on a completion date of 14/10/2025. Can one prolong the loan expiry date?
The person best placed to address this question is your solicitors who is in a position to determine if they corresponding with the bank, owner’s solicitors, selling agents or indeed all parties given the circumstances your house move as of today.
We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Gower for our house move. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our bank Chelsea Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?
Banks tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the profile of firm, some have decided to limit the number of solicitor practices they permit to act for them. Be aware that Chelsea Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Chelsea Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are differing opinions regarding the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Gower only conduct very few conveyances a year.
Will our conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Gower.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Gower. There are those who acquire a house in Gower, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.
Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their conveyancers which can figure out the risks in Gower. The conventional set of property information forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual inquiry of the owner to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer could bring a claim for damages stemming from an misleading response. The buyer’s lawyers will also order an environmental report. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be conducted.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Gower I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Gower for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Gower with the intention of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gower can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors. If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. A minority of Gower leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their lawyers. 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 Gower state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
I invested in buying a garden flat in Gower, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Gower with an extended lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2090
With 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
My wife and I soon to complete on the purchase a property in Gower but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have agreed recompense from the owner of £2k by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process yet my bank will not permit this. Why were they involved?
Your solicitor listed on the bank approved list is required to inform the bank of any variations to the purchase amount. In the event that you did not allow your conveyancer to report the reduction to your mortgage company then they would need to refrain from representing you and the mortgage company.