This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Amesbury. Do I collect the keys to the property on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a local conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury?

On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Amesbury. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be called to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

Can you help - my lawyer says that restrictive coveneant insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Amesbury?

The right level of restrictive coveneant indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Barclays and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

I'm the single beneficiary of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Amesbury. The Amesbury property was put into my name in July. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in July. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be caught by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement is chiefly there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Amesbury is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?

Flying freeholds in Amesbury are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Amesbury may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

In what way does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Amesbury and how can your lawyers assist?

The 1954 Act provides security of tenure to commercial tenants, giving them the legal entitlement to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy when the lease reaches an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Amesbury is one of the numerous locations in which the firms we work with are located

My husband and I are 3 weeks into a freehold purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the estate agent to perform conveyancing in Amesbury. I am am very frustrated with the level of service. Can you help me find new lawyers?

They would need to be really bad to suggest changing them. Has your mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new contact details and get the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating costs and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our search tool can help you find a bank approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Amesbury

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Amesbury where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Amesbury conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

I acquired a studio flat in Amesbury, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Amesbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

You have 65 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.