Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Stony Stratford even where I’m not buying or selling a house, for example if I wish to buy an office in Stony Stratford with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd?
The service is mainly there to get a quote from domestic conveyancing solicitors in Stony Stratford but we have set out at the end of this page a few Stony Stratford commercial conveyancing firms. You should enquire with the company directly to establish if they can also act for Platform Home Loans Ltd
I have 7378 less than 75 years remaining on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Stony Stratford. Conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide Building Society panel can deal with such extensions right?
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. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 16/2/2025 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.
When it comes to lenders such as Clydesdale, do Stony Stratford property lawyers face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from HSBC as we want to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Stony Stratford. Are we obliged to select a high street Stony Stratford solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
HSBC don't usually require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the HSBC conveyancing panel.
I'm in the throws of looking at apartments in Stony Stratford and I am about to put in an offer. Is it advisable to have a solicitor on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Co-operative.
You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Co-operative, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.
I am purchasing a new build house in Stony Stratford with a loan from Coventry Building Society. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it will adversely affect my mortgage with Coventry Building Society. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
What makes your site different to alternative online quote calculators when it comes to conveyancing in Stony Stratford?
At this site obtain an accurate quote from a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that has a full understanding of the nuances of your conveyancing in Stony Stratford. Unlike many estate agents and many comparison sites we do not have kick-back deals with solicitors. A large number of agents and online brokers 'recommend' the firm who pay the highest kickback, rather than the best value conveyancing in Stony Stratford
I own a leasehold flat in Stony Stratford. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Stony Stratford who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?
First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Stony Stratford conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I own a studio flat in Stony Stratford, conveyancing was carried out 9 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Stony Stratford with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2077
With just 52 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.