The Cheddleton conveyancing firm handling our Cheddleton conveyancing has spotted a difference between the surveyor’s assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is in the conveyancing documents. My solicitor has advised that he needs to ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s approach right?

Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. 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.

How up to date is your database of Cheddleton solicitors on the UBS conveyancing panel? Do UBS send you an updated list?

Cheddleton conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from UBS directly.

My wife and I own a renovated Edwardian property in Cheddleton. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and The Mortgage Works. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cheddleton 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 buyers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Cheddleton I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Cheddleton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

If you need a home loan that many years will be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Cheddleton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cheddleton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Cheddleton, conveyancing having been completed September 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Cheddleton with a long lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2085

With only 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should 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.