I'm in the process of changing my domestic loan to a BTL Britannia mortgage. I have been informed by my broker that I need a solicitor for this. I had a chat my past Howden conveyancing practitioner who dealt with the legals when I first acquired the house. The quote supplied of £575 plus disbursements has shocked me as its a remortgage than a sale or purchase.
The quote is slightly on the steep side. If you shop around you may be able to reduce the fees marginally by as much as a hundred pounds. That being said, assuming were content with the service the firm provided you maycome to regret choosing an an unknown conveyancer. Don't forget to check the solicitor can also act for Britannia. You can use our search tool to select a Howden conveyancing firm on the Britannia conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Howden.
Do the conveyancing lawyers that you recommend perform right to buy conveyancing in Howden?
We have identified numerous conveyancing lawyers who can service right to buy conveyancing work Please contact us to secure a conveyancing quote.
When will exchange of contracts take place for domestic conveyancing in Howden and do I need to be at the conveyancers branch?
Where you are round the corner to our conveyancing solicitors in Howden you are welcome to attend to sign the paperwork. That being said, the law practices we work with supply a nationwide conveyancing service and give just as comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The signing of the purchase agreement is not the point of no return. A signed contract simply enables the firm to officially exchange at the suitable time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is is usually a five minute process, although where a long "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Howden)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.
I am about to put an offer on a leasehold flat in Howden. The property agents assure me that it is standard for flats in Howden to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am obtaining a loan with Nationwide Building Society. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has Seventy One years unexpired.
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. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 15/3/2023 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 0.5% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 0.5% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions
We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Howden prior to instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders may not issue a loan on a flying freehold house.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Howden. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Howden to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.
We are a fortnight into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the selling agent to carry out the conveyancing in Howden. I am not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new lawyers?
They would have to be really poor to suggest changing them. Has your mortgage been sent? If so you need to make them aware of the new contact details and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid added fees and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Howden