My solicitor has discovered a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Barnard Castle. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancing practitioner has advised that he must ensure that the lender is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

I am selling my flat in Barnard Castle. Will the conveyancing practitioner have to be required to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently in recent years.

I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Barnard Castle. Now, I need the documents but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 Barnard Castle of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Barnard Castle I like with open areas and station nearby, however it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Barnard Castle suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

What makes a Barnard Castle lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Barnard Castle is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A duty to insure the building

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Virgin Money, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Barnard Castle - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

What is the the remaining lease term? If a Barnard Castle lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Barnard Castlelease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease. What is the annual service fee and ground rent?