We are buying a 1 bedroom flat in Witney with a mortgage. We like our Witney conveyancer, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or retain our Witney property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Witney conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Witney costs more?

The conveyancing costs on a leasehold premises in Witney is often greater as compared to a freehold property. This is because there is an amount of extra time necessary in communicating with the freeholder and management company to collate the evidence concerning whether the rent and maintenance charges have been paid and whether there are any major works due in the foreseeable future on repairs or maintenance of the building.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Witney. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Witney

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared.

I have been advised by a number of estate agents in Witney to select a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?

We refuse to make any commission for directing people our way. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Witney. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as you normally would as all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Witney Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

In the main the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Witney obliged leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Witneylease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension. The majority of Witney leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the building set by the management company. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.