I was told recently by my lender that my Horsforth lawyer is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?

The first thing you need to do is to call your Horsforth lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to inform you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Horsforth conveyancing firm that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

Can I use your services to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Horsforth even where I’m not buying or disposing of a house, for instance where I wish to acquire a shop in Horsforth with a loan from Yorkshire Building Society?

The service is primarily utilised to select residential conveyancing solicitors in Horsforth but we have set out towards the bottom of this page a selection of Horsforth commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the firm directly to check if they can also act for Yorkshire Building Society

Is it the case that all Horsforth solicitor practices on the Barclays conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the CLC.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Skipton. Horsforth conveyancing lawyers are instructed. How long does it take for Skipton to issue the offer to the solicitor?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Skipton completed the valuation? Have you advised Skipton as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Skipton conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I can not fathom if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Horsforth bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Horsforth conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend based on their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

As long as the solicitor is on the lender panel, they must comply with the CML Handbook provisions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Horsforth which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Horsforth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 Horsforth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 any new 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Horsforth - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

You should want to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. How much is the annual service fee and ground rent?

I purchased a flat in Horsforth last 22/5/2024 and to date it is still not registered with HMLR. It is part of a new estate and my property lawyer told me that it can take twelve months to register. I have spoken with HM Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. Do I need to be concerned?

It is your lawyer that you really need to contact in order to satisfy any questions which have been raised as part of the registration process for your Horsforth property. Normal Horsforth conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the vendor’s conveyancer that they will assist in resolving any question raised by HMLR so it may be a case of seeking to enforce that undertaking in some way.