We are a couple about to sign contracts for a semi detached house in Hainault. We encountered a snag. The mortgage offer with Godiva Mortgages Ltd expires on 30/11/2026 but the owners are insisting on a completion date of 2/12/2026. Can one extend the mortgage expiry date?
The best person to deal with your question is your solicitors who will determine whether they corresponding with the mortgage company, vendor’s conveyancers, property agents or conceivably all three taking into account the history of your house move to date.
Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Hainault even where I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example where I want to buy an office in Hainault with a mortgage from Birmingham Midshires?
Our comparison service is mainly utilised to locate domestic conveyancing solicitors in Hainault but we have set out at the end of this page some Hainault commercial conveyancing firms. You should speak with the solicitors directly to see if they can also act for Birmingham Midshires
About to place a bid on a leasehold flat in Hainault. The selling agents say that it is the norm for flats in Hainault to have less than 75 years remaining. I am expecting a loan with The Mortgage Works. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has 70 years remaining.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. The Mortgage Works have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 28/9/2026 the requirements read as follows :
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 70 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 70 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a ground rent (or annual rent) being reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1.0% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn ground rent (annual rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any new build properties completed but not sold pre 30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the lease conforms to the above guidance
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years
LEASE EXTENSIONS
We require all lease extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to the Issuing Office
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
The deeds to my property can not be found. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Hainault 10 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
In today’s world there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will be aware precisely where to look for all the suitable documentation so you may buy or dispose of your house without a hitch. If copies are not available, your lawyer may be able to arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities against possible claims on the premises.
How easy is it to use your search app to locate a conveyancing solicitor in Hainault on the authorised to act for my lender?
1st pick a bank such as Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society or Alliance & Leicester then type in your preferred area for instance Hainault. Conveyancing practices in Hainault and beyond will then be identified.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Hainault. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
It best that you discharge the maintenance contribution as you normally would because all ground rent and service invoices will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am the leaseholder of a ground floor flat in Hainault. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Hainault conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Hainault premises is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.26 years.