We have rather pushy sellers who has recommended a preliminary contract with a down payment 6,000. Are such agreements the norm for West Malling conveyancing transactions?
Exclusivity contracts are agreements binding a home vendor and prospective acquirer giving the buyer a ‘clear field’ to purchase the property for a set period of time. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity agreement is a contract stating that you should have a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It is generally utilised for buyer confidence though in some cases, the seller may enjoy an upside from such agreements as well. There are numerous positives and negatives to having them but you should to check with your lawyer but beware that it may result in incurring more in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these contracts are not popular in relation to conveyancing in West Malling.
I have 7378 less than 75 years left on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in West Malling. 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 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 20/4/2026 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.
When it comes to lenders such as RBS, do West Malling property lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.
Is there a list of Lloyds panel conveyancers in West Malling on the Building Society Association’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association websites. Very few lending institutions make their panel listings available over the internet. If you are looking for a West Malling conveyancer on the Lloyds please use our tool.
Can I be sure that the West Malling conveyancing solicitor on the Coventry BS panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in West Malling getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor handling your transaction.
Just acquired a semi-detached house in West Malling , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to record the transfer to my name? My West Malling conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to be certain the registration is concluded.
As far as conveyancing in West Malling registration is no faster or slower than the rest of England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timescales can vary according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry must send notices to any third parties. At present in the region of three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with within two weeks but some can be subject to longer hold-ups. Historically registration occurs once the purchaser has moved in to the property so registration formalities is not typically primary concern but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer should speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in West Malling prior to appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks tend not give a loan on this type of property.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in West Malling. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in West Malling to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
As a leasehold owner I am on the hook for a maintenance contribution for my flat in West Malling. As a result of personal circumstances I fell behind with remittance. I negotiated a clearance schedule but there is still two currently outstanding.
I am under pressure to sell and I am worried this can jeopardize the sale if I have to settle the amount due first. I'd like to sell up and subsequently pay them back with the completion monies - is this practicable?
You should check with the lawyer carrying out your West Malling conveyancing but it might be possible to arrange for the debt to be passed to the purchasers. The final price due would be reduced to reflect the amount of debt they take on. They could then deal with the outstanding monies once they are the owners.