I have given 8 weeks notice to my current landlord and must be out of my rented property in Rugby by 3/2/2026. Conveyancing for my house purchase is underway. Is it possible to complete in 4 weeks as I wish to avoid having to move into short term accommodation?
It is unwise to provide notice on a rental until your lawyer suggests that you should. If you have not previously done so, contact to your conveyancer and request that they apply pressure on the sellers solicitors, try to get a realistic time scale from them that all parties will look towards
As a novice what is the most important advice you can impart regarding purchase conveyancing in Rugby?
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Rugby and elsewhere in England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of room for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, selling agent and even potentially a bank. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Rugby should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the process whose role it is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.
On occasion a third party with a vested interest will try and convince you that you should follow their advice. As an example, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is slow. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do something that is contrary to your conveyancers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
I just bought a flat at auction in Rugby. Conveyancing is necessary. What happens now?
Having legally committed yourself to purchase you now have to hire the services of a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you are facing a tight a drop dead date to complete the transaction. Every auction property should have a bespoke legal pack. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the legal pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to leasehold premises. You need to hand this to the lawyer working for you at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that you have funds in order to complete on the on the contractual date .
When it comes to mortgage companies such as HSBC, do Rugby conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are unaware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
It is not clear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Rugby bank branch on various occasions and was told it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Rugby conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend in accordance with their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
The conveyancer has to comply with the CML Handbook section two specifications for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.
I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in Rugby. Now, I need my files however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?
You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Rugby of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Rugby I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Rugby in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rugby from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rugby can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale. A minority of Rugby leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
Rugby Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying
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What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property? How is the lease structured? In the main the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Rugby require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works.