My conveyancer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are buying in Hednesford. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that he must ensure that the mortgage company 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 risk of a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender 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.

Completed the sale of my flat in Hednesford last June but our buyer keeps calling me to moan that her solicitor needs to hear from myconveyancer. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?

After completion of your house sale your solicitor is obliged to forward the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Where appropriate, your lawyer must also confirm that the mortgage has been discharged to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements peculiar conveyancing in Hednesford.

A colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Hednesford I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Hednesford conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Hednesford around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Hednesford.

Me and my brother own a terraced Georgian house in Hednesford. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Godiva Mortgages Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Hednesford and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hednesford is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Hednesford Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

How is the lease structured? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability?