My wife and I are hoping to purchase a home in Havant and are in fact using a Havant conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Britannia have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Havant solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Havant lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I have given 8 weeks notice to my existing landlord and have to leave my let out flat in Havant by 29/6/2026. Conveyancing on my purchase is progressing. Is it possible to complete in a couple of weeks as don't want to have to move into temporary accommodation?
Generally one should not give notice for your tenancy until exchange of contracts has taken place. If you have not previously done so, notify to your solicitor and request that they cajole the owners lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that all parties will look towards
Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the number one cause of hinderance in Havant house deals. Is that correct?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Havant.
How does conveyancing in Havant differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Havant come to us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because builders in Havant typically buy the land, 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 conveyancing solicitors 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Havant or who has acted in the same development.
Am I better off to instruct a Havant conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can execute the legal formalities but they are based approximately 350miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Havant conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Havant know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were content that must surpass using an unknown Havant conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.
Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Havant conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Havant conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Havant conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:
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If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason? What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?
Leasehold Conveyancing in Havant - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
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How many years are left on the lease? It would be a good idea to enquire if the the lease contains any adverse restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Havant. If you love the propertyin Havant yet your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult choice. Many Havant leasehold apartments will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.