Having been told to check out your service we were about to use a conveyancing solicitor in Ormskirk found using your search tool but stumbled across alternative quotes on the internet seem cheaper – how come?
There are numerous conveyancing outfits offering theoretically looks to be very low prices. Our advice is to think twice as to how important this transaction is to you that want to be penny wise pound foolish over the quality of the conveyancing. Some hide fees well inside the terms of business. The solicitors that we list for conveyancing in Ormskirk neverdo this.
My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our flat in Ormskirk with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Leeds Building Society had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Ormskirk? Why is this being asked of me?
You are right in the requirement set out by your lawyer has nothing to do with conveyancing in Ormskirk. Nowadays you can not proceed with any conveyancing process in the absence handing over evidence of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence as well as a bank statement. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it needs to be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not satisfactory without the other.
Evidence of the source of funds is mandated under Money Laundering Regulations. Please do not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your conveyancer must retain this information on file. Your Ormskirk conveyancing lawyer will require evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any money from you into their client account and they will also ask additional questions concerning the origin of monies.
About to place a bid on a leasehold flat in Ormskirk. The estate agents advise that it is the norm for flats in Ormskirk to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am getting a loan with The Mortgage Works. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has Seventy One years left.
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 23/2/2025 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.
Given that I will soon part with 450k on 3 bedroom house in Ormskirk I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning theconveyancing prior to appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Ormskirk.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Ormskirk should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.
Am I better off to use a Ormskirk conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? An old friend can execute the conveyancing but her office is approximately 350miles drive away.
The benefit of a local Ormskirk conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, present your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Ormskirk know how is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were content that should surpass using an unfamiliar Ormskirk conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.