I do hope you can help me. My Beaumaris conveyancer is assuring me that he is legally obliged toapply for Beaumaris conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Lloydsapproved lawyer panel. Do I not have a choice here?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a mortgage with a mortgage company your property lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Beaumaris conveyancing searches.

We're in Beaumaris, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is UBS , and our solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

My relative advised me that if I am purchasing in Beaumaris I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Beaumaris conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Beaumaris around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Beaumaris Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Beaumaris.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in Beaumaris prior to instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Beaumaris. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Beaumaris where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Beaumaris conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

I bought a studio flat in Beaumaris, conveyancing having been completed June 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Beaumaris with a long lease are worth £207,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2083

With 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.