Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a first time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in Alfriston. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Alfriston?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Alfriston. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Nationwide. I assume I don't need a Alfriston lawyer on the Nationwide panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Nationwide mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Nationwide mortgage from the register. Nationwide, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Nationwide has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Nationwide has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by HSBC. Is it usual for HSBC to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Alfriston is approved on their conveyancing panel? HSBC have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for HSBC to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one close by in Alfriston I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Alfriston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

In scouring the web for the term conveyancing in Alfriston it brings up many solicitorsin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancing solicitor for me?

The best way of finding a suitable conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so enquire of friends and family who have bought a property in Alfriston or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Costs for conveyancing in Alfriston vary, so it's a good idea to secure at least four costs illustrations from varying types of companies. Make sure that you know that the costs are guaranteed not to to be inflated.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Alfriston properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Alfriston. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Insurance obligations Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I bought a split level flat in Alfriston, conveyancing having been completed in 1998. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Alfriston with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2083

You have 60 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

We are about to purchasing a flat in Alfriston. Conveyancing is not complete but we would like have the amount we are are buying for a secret from the likes of Nestoria. Is this achievable and how?

HM Land Registry as a matter of law required to disclose price sold data on a register of the title for residential properties countrywide including premises in Alfriston. The register of title is an open document, so the Land Registry would be breaking the law excluded certain properties such as the property in Alfriston.

In essence you can ask HMLR to hide the amount paid data but the answer would be in the negative.