We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Nationwide. Holt conveyancing practitioners have been chosen. How long does it take for Nationwide to forward the offer to the solicitor?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Nationwide done the survey? Have you advised Nationwide as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Holt solicitor - who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

HSBC will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually HSBC 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 solicitor 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 Holt postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Holt.

My offer on a property in Holt has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a flat, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in Holt. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Barclays going?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, Holt conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market many purchasers will apply for a home loan with Barclays and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to press on with the conveyancing in Holt.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Holt 5 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?

Assuming the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be recorded by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your house and order current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for £20 inclusive of VAT.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Holt with a mortgage from Barclays Direct. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about this extras as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Are there common problems that you witness in leases for Holt properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Holt is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I purchased a basement flat in Holt, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Holt with a long lease are worth £192,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2080

With only 54 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £32,300 and £37,400 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

We today found out that one of the directors of the firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in Holt is an uncle of the owners that we are purchasing from. Is this acceptable?

As long as there is no conflict of interest this is allowable. Where you are obtaining a mortgage then the mortgage company may have a say as many banks have specific instructions concerning this. For example for Virgin as of 18/1/2026, the requirements read as follows :