Would the conveyancing lawyers listed on your site perform conveyancing in Whitworth by way of an attended exchange?

We do have a number of conveyancing specialists carrying out attended exchanges. You should e-mail us to obtain a costs illustration and details as to dates.

My wife and I own a semi-detached Victorian property in Whitworth. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Yorkshire Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to read 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Whitworth and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

How does conveyancing in Whitworth differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Whitworth come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because builders in Whitworth usually purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Whitworth or who has acted in the same development.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Whitworth I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Whitworth in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

Are there frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Whitworth properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Whitworth. Most leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party. A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Whitworth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How is the lease structured? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Plenty Whitworth leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the freeholder. Should you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive.