The property market in Lymington is heating up. What can I do to speed up matters?

First, If the seller is applying pressure to sign contracts it is advisable to make sure that your conveyancer is familiar with the location as they will make use of local contacts and knowledge. It is even conceivable that they may have conducted otherproperties in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Lymington conveyancing solicitor. Second, double check that the lawyer is on the member panel. It is claimed that just under twenty per cent of Lymington conveyancing transactions are held up or derailed after finding out that a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the legal transfer of property being held up by almost 21 days. It is estimated that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home sales annually. Almost all Lymington conveyancing practices can not represent certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.

What can a local search reveal about the property my wife and I buying in Lymington?

Lymington conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example PSG The local search is essential in every Lymington conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search should supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject areas.

I am buying a new build house in Lymington with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative told me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Lymington in advance of instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to give a mortgage on this type of property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Lymington. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Lymington to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Lymington where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Lymington conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Lymington, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Lymington with an extended lease are worth £171,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2104

With only 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.