I am about to exchange on the purchase of a property in Hindhead but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate reparation from the vendor in the sum of £2k by way of a reduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however Skipton will not permit this. Why were they approached?

Any lawyer being on the Skipton approved list is required to disclose to Skipton of any variations to the purchase price. If you prohibit your lawyer to disclose the price change to Skipton then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Skipton and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Hindhead.

Finally the sale completed on my house in Hindhead last August but our buyer keeps SMS messaging me complaining that her solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?

Following your house sale your solicitor is committed to forward the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also evidence that the mortgage has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion steps specific conveyancing in Hindhead.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Aldermore as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Hindhead. Are we obliged to appoint a local Hindhead solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Aldermore do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Aldermore list.

My fiancee and I are at the point of looking at apartments in Hindhead and I am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a home loan with UBS.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are obtaining a mortgage with UBS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the UBS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Hindhead building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Hindhead conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they will not lend based on their published requirements. I have no idea who is right.

As long as the conveyancer is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Hindhead is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Hindhead are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hindhead you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hindhead may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

We own a leasehold flat in Hindhead. Conveyancing was finalised in last year. I have heard that I should not allow the lease length fall too low. Why is that a problem?

Hindhead residential long term leases are for a fixed period - usually 99 years when they started. However many flats in Hindhead were built or converted in the 70’s80’s and so such leases now have under 80 years remaining. This may seem like plenty of time but Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions generally require leases to have a minimum of seventy five years unexpired to adequate security. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are nearing eighty years. To increase the marketability of your property you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. You should note that there are strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease is less than eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to escalate.