My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Keswick. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Principality, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?
If you plan to refinance then Principality will require that you use a conveyancer on the Principality conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Principality conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Principality mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
My offer was accepted on an apartment in Keswick on 18/12/2025, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Conveyancer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to RBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the RBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Having digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Keswick solicitor - who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Keswick postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Keswick.
Our offer on a semi in Keswick has been accepted, the sellers do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The sellers have placed an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Keswick. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Leeds Building Society going?
It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Keswick conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should ensure that your conveyancer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some buyers will apply for the mortgage with Leeds Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in Keswick.
I appreciate that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need this when acquiring a property in Keswick? or I am told that there is an ancient law that could mean that homeowners residing in a parish church boundary may be liable to contribute towards maintenance towards the chancel within the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Keswick?
Unless a previous acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in Keswick to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
How does conveyancing in Keswick differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Keswick come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because builders in Keswick tend to acquire the land, 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 property lawyers 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 Keswick or who has acted in the same development.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Keswick for my house move. Is there any facility to review a firm’s complaints history with the legal regulator?
Members of the public can search for documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions started on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded telephone calls for training purposes.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Keswick from the perspective of expediting the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Keswick can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Keswick state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance. Many freeholders or Management Companies in Keswick charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Keswick. A minority of Keswick leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Keswick, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Keswick with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085
You have 59 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.