I am hoping to complete my purchase in Swinton next Tuesday. My solicitor now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the mortgage company. What risks does the mortgage company expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. These requirements are not unique to conveyancing in Swinton.
I am about to put a bid on a leasehold property in Swinton. The estate agents say that it is normal for flats in Swinton to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am getting a loan with Nationwide Building Society. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has Seventy One years left.
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 21/1/2026 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
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
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
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 1% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 1% 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.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
The mortgage over my property is with Yorkshire BS for my property in Swinton. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?
You must advise Yorkshire BS before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Yorkshire BS will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel lawyer.
UBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a house in Swinton has been agreed to, what are the next steps?
Your estate agent will wish to be advised as to your conveyancing practitioner's details (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s approved list). Contact UBS or your broker and finish off any outstanding forms. UBS will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. UBS will send the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Swinton.
At last I have had an offer on a flat in Swinton agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on on an apartment, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Swinton. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Aldermore started?
It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Swinton conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you must check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Aldermore approved list. Concerning the next steps this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some home buyers will apply for a home loan with Aldermore and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancer to proceed with searches.
I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Swinton and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A high street Swinton lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a web based conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Swinton. We have lived in Swinton for six years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that there is no issue.
It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)
How does conveyancing in Swinton differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Swinton approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is completed. This is because house builders in Swinton typically acquire 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 used to new build conveyancing in Swinton or who has acted in the same development.
My mother and father cant seem to find their Swinton property on the HMLR website. They have a vague memory 48 years ago when they bought the property there were complications concerning the address not being recognised in some systems.
Nearly all properties in Swinton should be revealed. Have you attempted a search to simply the postcode. Normally it will identify all the houses and flats within the postcode. Where registered it will be there with a title number. If they bought 48 years ago it's conceivable it may be unregistered. The property might still be revealed but with the title number shown 'na'. In this scenario you will need to locate the original title documentation which might be with your parent’s bank.