About to place a bid on a leasehold flat in Drakes Cross. The property agents advise that it is the norm for flats in Drakes Cross to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am taking out a loan with Chelsea Building Society. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 69 years remaining.
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. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 2/7/2026 the requirements read as follows :
A friend informed me that in buying a property in Drakes Cross there may be a number of restrictions prohibiting external changes to a property. Is this right?
There are a number of properties in Drakes Cross which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Drakes Cross should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We previously appointed solicitors with offices in Drakes Cross on the Nationwide solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further charge for handling the Nationwide mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Nationwide?
As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner can levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Nationwide but by your Drakes Cross conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Nationwide panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
Intending to buy a apartment in Drakes Cross. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Drakes Cross conveyancing practitioner is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.
Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a residence in Drakes Cross?
Unless a prior acquisition of the premises took place after 12 October 2013 you could take it that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Drakes Cross to continue to recommend a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.
I'm buying my first flat in Drakes Cross with a mortgage from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about this deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.
My husband and I are a fortnight into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Drakes Cross. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?
A conveyancer would have to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has your mortgage been issued? If so you will need to advise them of the replacement solicitor and get the loan are re-sent. Your conveyancer needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating expenses and frustration. That should be your first question of the new conveyancers. The find a solicitor tool will help you find a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Drakes Cross
How does one as executor remove a departed person's name from the title register for a property in Drakes Cross?
If a Drakes Cross property is co-owned and one of the proprietors dies, the name will not immediately be removed from the title deeds. It is not necessary to amend the title as in the event of a sale you would just need to supply proof as to the reason the joint owner is missing from the transfer, ordinarily this takes the form of the probate documents.
With a view to making the sale conveyancing more straight forward for the sale of the property you may apply to have the deceased name erased from the title entries by submitting an application to the land registry with evidence of the death. There is no land registry fee payable.