After what seems like an age a mortgage agreement from Santander for the refinancing of my 4 room maisonette is coming any day now. Are you able to suggest a low cost conveyancing solicitor in Keswick?

This site is not designed to help those in their quest for a cheap conveyancing solicitors in Keswick. We can offer you cost effective conveyancing but our intention is not to work with the cheapest lawyers. Resist the temptation to appoint companies offering low cost conveyancing in Keswick. Optimistically, in being led by low cost conveyancing, you will get your money’s worth and at worst you will end up spending a lot in extras and still not receive the service required.

As someone with no idea as to conveyancing in Keswick what is your top tip you can give me concerning the home moving process in Keswick

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Keswick and elsewhere in Cumbria is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of room for friction between you and others involved in the ownership transfer. For instance, the seller, estate agent and sometimes your mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Keswick is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose responsibility is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a definite ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. You should always trust your solicitor ahead of the other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.

I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in Keswick. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Keswick of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I work for a long established estate agency in Keswick where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Keswick conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 1st floor flat in Keswick, conveyancing formalities finalised October 2006. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Keswick with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2094

With just 70 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Keswick. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Keswick ?

Most houses in Keswick are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Keswick in which case you should be shopping around for a Keswick conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.