Can you help? My Bury St Edmunds solicitor is advising me that he has toconduct Bury St Edmunds conveyancing searches stemming from the fact thatthe firm are on the Virgin Moneysolicitor panel. These Bury St Edmunds searches cost a lot of money can this be avoided?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a home loan with a lender 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 comply with the CML Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Bury St Edmunds conveyancing searches.

Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Bury St Edmunds. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to put money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Bury St Edmunds

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Bury St Edmunds and Solicitor practices in Bury St Edmunds who can help with your conveyancing We would stress that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in transferring property. The two can conduct other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.

I am purchasing a property in Bury St Edmunds. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Principality be concerned?

Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Principality your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Principality. The CML Handbook contains minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Principality where a lease fails to satisfy these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Bury St Edmunds.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Bury St Edmunds 5 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?

Assuming you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be documented by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and obtain up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Bury St Edmunds I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Bury St Edmunds for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Bury St Edmunds conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bury St Edmunds conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Bury St Edmunds conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be useful:

Can they put you in touch with clients in Bury St Edmunds who can give a testimonial? How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

I bought a garden flat in Bury St Edmunds, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Bury St Edmunds with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083

With just 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £23,800 and £27,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above 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 considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.