My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Aylesbury. I I am struggling to find out if they are accepted on the National Westminster Bank approved list of lawyers. Can you help?

You should phone your conveyancer and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Otherwise you should call National Westminster Bank who may be able to confirm.

About to purchase a new build flat in Aylesbury. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Aylesbury

Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? 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.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Aylesbury I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Aylesbury in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I only have 62 years left on my lease in Aylesbury. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Aylesbury.

I inherited a split level flat in Aylesbury, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Aylesbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090

With just 65 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

My partner and I have an offer in principle from Nationwide Building Society who have advised we could borrow up to £300k. When do we need to instruct a lawyer for conveyancing? Aylesbury is where we plan to move to.

You can appoint a lawyer now and ask them to create a file for you. This will kickstart: 1) the selling agent to send out the Sales Memo to all parties 2) the seller’s solicitor to send out the draft contract. However, do not ask your property lawyer to order searches until you have your valuation report from Nationwide Building Society and you are content to move forward.