We are about to exchange contracts for a semi detached house in Hilsea. We encountered a snag. Our mortgage offer with The Mortgage Works runs out on 19/3/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 23/3/2026. Is it possible to prolong the loan expiry date?
The best person to address this issue is your conveyancer who will calculate whether they corresponding with the mortgage broker, seller’s representatives, estate agents or indeed all parties based on the circumstances your conveyancing to date.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Hilsea? Why is this being asked of me?
In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Hilsea conveyancing firm will require proof of identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is usually dealt with by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing your correct address.
Under Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are obliged by law to validate not just the ID of conveyancing clients but also the origin of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may lead to your conveyancer terminating their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your property lawyers are duty bound to inform the relevant authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
My lawyer in Hilsea has never been on on the Alliance & Leicester Approved Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Alliance & Leicester panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The limited options open to you here include:
- Carry on with your existing Hilsea lawyers but Alliance & Leicester will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges as well as cause frustration.
- Find an alternative solicitor to to deal with the purchase, remembering to check they are Alliance & Leicester approved.
- Try to convince your Alliance & Leicester based solicitor to try to join the Alliance & Leicester panel
is it true that all Hilsea solicitor practices on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be overseen by the CLC.
We expect to receive a AIP from Nationwide this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nationwide recommend any Hilsea solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Hilsea solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nationwide through the process.
I have finally had an offer on a flat in Hilsea accepted, the vendors do nevertheless have an associated purchase. The vendors have placed an offer on somewhere, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Hilsea. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Co-operative started?
It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Hilsea conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your solicitor is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of purchasers will apply for a home loan with Co-operative and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to move forward with searches.
I have a renovated Victorian property in Hilsea. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Nationwide Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Hilsea and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Hilsea I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Hilsea in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.