I am acquiring a property mortgage free in Leatherhead. I have been residing for the last twelve years in Leatherhead. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I have knowledge of the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?
In the absence of a home loan, then all but one or two of the Leatherhead conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your conveyancer will try and steer you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he has a professional duty to take that path of advice. One thing to consider; if you are intend to sell the house one day, it will be of interest to your future purchaser what the searches determine. On occasion houses with no practical issues can still reveal unexpected search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Leatherhead will provide you some helpful advice concerning this.
Our lender has suggested solicitors on their panel based in Leatherhead but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Leatherhead or nearer to where I live. Are you able to help?
The minority of Leatherhead conveyancing solicitors are on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Do make the most of the above find an approved solicitor tool to choose a Leatherhead conveyancing solicitor on the on the bank panel.
My wife and I are purchasing a house in Leatherhead. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On the day of competition we have to send money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Leatherhead. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.
My offer was accepted on a property in Leatherhead on 28/5/2025, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Bank of Ireland and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Are Bank of Ireland entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I am purchasing my first flat in Leatherhead with a mortgage from Halifax. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it would adversely affect my loan with the bank. 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.
I am looking at a two apartments in Leatherhead both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field.
I inherited a garden flat in Leatherhead, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Leatherhead with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2099
You have 74 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.
Much to my surprise my property lawyer in Leatherhead is asking me for ID documents saying that this is part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the bank Conveyancing panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the lender. This is not unique to conveyancing in Leatherhead