Willappointing a Silsoe conveyancing lawyer make the legal process smoother?
On the whole conveyancing solicitors in your location will enjoy excellent alliances with your local authority, which can help with your Silsoe conveyancing searches that your conveyancer will require on your transaction. It can only help if they have good connections with the Local Land Registry Office your area Silsoe, other property lawyers in the location and Silsoe Estate Agents.
I have just over seventy years remaining on my lease and need a lease extension for my apartment in Silsoe. Conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide Building Society panel can deal with such extensions correct?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 23/1/2026 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 is 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- 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 charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
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% 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 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.
A colleague advised me that in purchasing a property in Silsoe there could be various restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Silsoe which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Silsoe should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
Is it the case that all Silsoe CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Barclays conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their panels.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Silsoe. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?
Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
Will my lawyer be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Silsoe.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Silsoe. There are those who acquire a property in Silsoe, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that may be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Silsoe. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the seller to find out if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer may bring a compensation claim stemming from an misleading reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers should also commission an enviro report. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be initiated.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Silsoe before retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor has said that some lenders may not give a loan on this type of home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Silsoe. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Silsoe especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Silsoe.
We're novice buyers - agreed a price, yet the agent informed us that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint their recommended lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Silsoe
We suspect that the seller is unaware of this demand. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to use your preferred Silsoe conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide their negotiator at the agency a commission or achieve conveyancing figures demanded by head office.