We are about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Aldwych. We encountered a snag. The loan offer with Aldermore runs out on 16/3/2026 but the owners are insisting on a completion date of 18/3/2026. Is it possible to prolong the loan expiry date?
The best person to address this concern is your conveyancer who is in a position to assess if they better off negotiating with the mortgage broker, owner’s solicitors, estate agents or possibly all three given what has happend in your house move to date.
We're in Aldwych, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Aldermore , and our lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.
How does conveyancing in Aldwych differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Aldwych contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because new home sellers in Aldwych tend to purchase 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 conveyancers 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 Aldwych or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one close by in Aldwych I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Aldwych for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
After what feels like an age I have had an offer on an flat in Aldwych agreed to, the owner does nevertheless have a connected purchase. The current proprietors have put an offer on a flat, however it’s not been accepted yet, and has viewings of other apartments booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Aldwych. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with UBS going with UBS?
It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Aldwych conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is check that your solicitor is on the UBS approved list. As to the subsequent steps this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some purchasers will apply for a home loan with UBS and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with searches.