My apartment in Dunstable is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Does the conveyancer have to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently currently.

We are purchasing a property and the solicitor has raised the issue of Chancel Repair to which the house may be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this strictly appropriate for conveyancing in Dunstable

Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you could expect solicitors delivering conveyancing in Dunstable to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I have todaybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Dunstable for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest way to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Dunstable conveyancing specialists.

Given that I will soon spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a property in Dunstable I would like to talk to a lawyer concerning thehouse move prior to instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we encourage - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be doing your conveyancing in Dunstable.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a matter reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Dunstable should be the figure that you are charged.

I only have Sixty One years left on my flat in Dunstable. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dunstable.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Dunstable, conveyancing having been completed in 2009. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Dunstable with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2079

With only 55 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.