I have just over seventy years remaining on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Burnham Market. Conveyancing solicitors on the Tesco Bank panel can deal with such extensions correct?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 15/5/2026 the requirements read as follows :
I am assisting my niece sell her flat in Burnham Market. Does the conveyancing solicitor order the energy assessment or do I organise this?
Following the demise of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates became a mandatory part of selling a property. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned prior to the property being marketed. It is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers normally arrange. If you are using a Burnham Market conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with reputable local energy assessors
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Barclays. I assume I don't need a Burnham Market conveyancing practitioner on the Barclays panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Barclays mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Barclays mortgage from the register. Barclays, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Barclays has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Barclays has instructed the Land Registry to do so
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Burnham Market. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A few days later, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Kent Reliance 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 Kent Reliance 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.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Burnham Market?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Burnham Market. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in Burnham Market differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Burnham Market contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because builders in Burnham Market typically purchase the real estate, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Burnham Market or who has acted in the same development.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Burnham Market is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?
Flying freeholds in Burnham Market are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Burnham Market you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Burnham Market may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
Our lawyer in Burnham Market has discovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Burnham Market. The seller’s lawyers have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer says that as he is on the bank conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. A precondition to being on the bank approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.