I am buying a house mortgage free in Bourne. I have lived for the previous twelve years in Bourne. Conveyancing searches are expensive. As I know the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Bourne conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of encouragement . Do take into account; if you are likely to dispose of the house in the future, it will be of importance to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. On occasion properties with apparent issues can still throw up negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Bourne should provide you some helpful guidance concerning this.

Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Bourne?

If you are buying a property in Bourne your lawyer will ask you put them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Ordinarily this is requested to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is payable against the purchase price then this should be required immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a few days prior to the completion date.

I have recentlybeen informed that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Bourne for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I check that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Bourne conveyancing specialists.

Given that I will soon part with £400,000 on a terraced house in Bourne I wish to talk to a lawyer about myconveyancing before instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the lawyer who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Bourne.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a matter number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Bourne should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Bourne where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bourne conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Bourne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Plenty Bourne leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the landlord. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. It would be wise to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other people if they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money.