We are about to sign contracts for a freehold house in Childwall. We encountered a problem. Our loan offer with Bank of Scotland expires on 30/3/2026 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 1/4/2026. Is it possible to extend the mortgage expiry date?

The person best placed to address this question is your lawyer who will hopefully assess whether he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage company, owner’s solicitors, selling agents or indeed all parties given the history of your transaction as of today.

Are the Childwall conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Kent Reliance?

Childwall conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Kent Reliance directly.

I have justdiscovered that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Childwall for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Childwall conveyancing specialists.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Childwall which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Childwall is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Childwall conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Childwall Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

Who are the managing agents? Does the lease have onerous restrictions?

We have been advised by numerous estate agents that it should take up to two months for Childwall conveyancing to complete.This was a month ago. The paperwork was only forwarded from the vendors conveyancer a few days ago so does the clock start running now?

Don't bank on moving on a set date until exchange of contracts takes place. Whatever assurances the people you are buying from or selling to make, or your financial adviser makes don't rely on them. More stress is caused to clients trying to move home by false promises than anything else.