We were just about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Stansted. We have hit a problem. The mortgage offer with Clydesdale runs out on 9/3/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 11/3/2026. Is it possible to extend the mortgage expiry date?
The person best placed to address this issue is your conveyancer who will hopefully calculate whether they should be discussing with the mortgage company, vendor’s conveyancers, property agents or possibly all three based on what has happend in your transaction as of today.
I purchased a freehold property in Stansted but nevertheless charged rent, why is this and what is this?
It’s unusual for properties in Stansted and has limited impact for conveyancing in Stansted but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
I am assisting my mother sell her house in Stansted. Will the conveyancing solicitor order the energy performance certificate or do I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was kept a required element of moving house. An EPC needs to be commissioned before the property is marketed. It is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms normally arrange. If you are instructing a Stansted conveyancing practitioner they may be willing to arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with long established local energy assessors
My stepmother advised me that in buying a property in Stansted there may be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Stansted which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Stansted should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Lloyds are being pedantic. The Stansted solicitor who is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Lloyds are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Lloyds have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Lloyds have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Lloyds may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of hinderance in Stansted house deals. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Stansted.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Stansted I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Stansted suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you require a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
How up-to-date is your database of lawyers on the lender conveyancing panel in Stansted? Do the lenders send you an updated list?
Stansted firms and firms conducting conveyancing in Stansted themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the lender conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the mortgage company directly.