Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Neath is more expensive?
Neath leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Neath. My lender is Accord Mortgages
Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 6/9/2025, the requirements read as follows :
My stepmother advised me that in purchasing a property in Neath there may be various restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Neath which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Neath should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Nationwide. Neath conveyancing practitioners have been appointed. How long does it take for Nationwide to send the offer to the lawyer?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Nationwide conducted the survey? Have you informed Nationwide as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Neath. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My wife and I purchased a terraced Edwardian house in Neath. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and TSB. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You need to read 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 Neath and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.
What makes a Neath lease unacceptable for security purposes?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Neath. Most leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
Neath Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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Most Neath leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. If you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally in instalments accross the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. Its a good idea to find out as much as you can about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money.
I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Neath. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Neath are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Neath in which case you should be looking for a Neath conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.