I am selling our property in Amersham and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A high street Amersham conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Amersham. We have lived in Amersham for 4 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Amersham. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Amersham

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Please supply a car parking plan. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.

I have been advised by a number of selling agents in Amersham to locate a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your site rather than a competitor’s?

We don’t make any commission for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to sub-let our Amersham garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Amersham conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Amersham do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I bought a garden flat in Amersham, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Amersham with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

You have 60 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues 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 without first getting professional advice.

We have appointed a Amersham conveyancing solicitor for our home move (novice purchasers) and have picked up in the Ts and Cs that they are not regulated by the FCA. Need I be worried or is that usually the case with lawyer?

We can't see why they should be. Most conveyancing practitioner don't lend money. You should check that they are governed by the SRA, who set specific rules regulating amounts held on client account.