Our solicitor has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Henley In Arden. The other side have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our property lawyer says that he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the bank are the client. The appropriate lender conditions have to be complied with.

My father pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Henley In Arden there could be a number of restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Henley In Arden which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Henley In Arden should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I am expecting a OIP from RBS this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do RBS recommend any Henley In Arden solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Henley In Arden solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the RBS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and RBS through the process.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Henley In Arden. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A few days later, the property lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I purchased a terraced Edwardian house in Henley In Arden. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Henley In Arden and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Henley In Arden what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Henley In Arden is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Henley In Arden Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. If a Henley In Arden lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the property for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease. In the main the outlay for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Henley In Arden require leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

How much experience do your Henley In Arden conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?

Henley In Arden conveyancing lawyers help thousands of buyers move home every year and helped plenty of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique Henley In Arden conveyancers have worked on recent similar matters.