My friend's brother is a conveyancer. I hope that I will be offered preferential pricing for conveyancing, However if that does not come materialise, what level of costs would I typically be looking at for conveyancing in Carlisle?

It’s sensible to look for two or three conveyancing estimates. Make use of our comparison tool on this page. You will notice that quotes may vary but the service one can expect differ between law firms as is the case with the vast majority of professional services.

I am need of leasehold conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (five years built) in Carlisle. 95% of the flats are already occupied. Is it strictly necessary to order conveyancing searches for my conveyancing in Carlisle?

A big part of the Carlisle conveyancing process is the conveyancing searches. There are a large number of companies who offer Carlisle conveyancing searches, as well straight from the local authority. These are generally termed personal search organisation and they produce, not surprisingly, personal searches. Nevertheless, all Local Authority Search conveyancing products have one thing in common - they must obtain their information from the local authoritative source.

I'm the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the house in Carlisle. The Carlisle property was put into my name in April. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the house in April. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. Most lenders would take a sensible view as this clause primarily exists to capture subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

When it comes to lenders such as Santander, do Carlisle conveyancing practitioners face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Carlisle conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

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

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Carlisle ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Carlisle conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Carlisle do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Carlisle, conveyancing having been completed in 1995. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Carlisle with a long lease are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2090

With only 66 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

My lawyers in Carlisle have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the bank. Is it case that being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?

It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the mortgage company directly.