We are purchasing a property in Albrighton. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we have to deposit our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I'm spending time viewing apartments in Albrighton and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a lawyer appointed at this stage? I will be getting a mortgage with Virgin Money.

It would be prudent to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Virgin Money, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Albrighton. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

The deeds to my property are lost. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Albrighton 4 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?

As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be held by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, find your house and get up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for a small fee.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Albrighton with a mortgage from Nationwide Building Society. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it would put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Albrighton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Albrighton, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Albrighton with a long lease are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2071

You have 52 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Our conveyancing in Albrighton is completing next Friday, but the sellers I am purchasing off has asked to vacate on the Saturday at 2pm. Do I accept this?

You can't complete on a Saturday because the bank systems aren't operating.