We are a couple about to sign contracts for a garden flat in Brigg. We have hit a stumbling block. The mortgage offer with Aldermore expires on 23/9/2025 but the sellers are putting forward a completion date of 25/9/2025. Can one extend the mortgage expiry date?

The best person to deal with your concern is your solicitors who will hopefully calculate whether they corresponding with the lender, seller’s representatives, selling agents or possibly all three based on the history of your house move to date.

In looking at consumer advice sites for a conveyancing lawyer in Brigg, most post that I should instruct a CQS accredited lawyer. What is CQS?

The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in buying or selling property, trusted by some of the UK's biggest banks. Four years ago the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. Brigg is one of the numerous areas of the UK where there are Accredited lawyers.

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

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Brigg of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I was recommended by a few estate agents in Brigg to select a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to market your site ahead of another?

We refuse to give any financial incentive for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

Last January I purchased a leasehold property in Brigg. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Brigg Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

If a Brigg lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.