I am purchasing a terraced house in Cambourne. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Cambourne you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Cambourne.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a garden flat in Cambourne. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Cambourne?

On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Cambourne. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be called to pick up the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens early afternoon.

I'm in the throws of viewing apartments in Cambourne and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer in place at this point? I am planning to take a mortgage with Lloyds.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Lloyds, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with HSBC. I assume I don't need a Cambourne conveyancing practitioner on the HSBC panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your HSBC mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the HSBC mortgage from the register. HSBC, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where HSBC has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. HSBC has instructed the Land Registry to do so

My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Edwardian property in Cambourne. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cambourne and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

I am using a search engine for the term on line conveyancing in Cambourne it reveals many conveyancersin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the suitable solicitor for the sale of my house?

The best way of seeking a suitable conveyancer is through a trusted referral, so enquire of colleagues and family who have purchased a property in Cambourne or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Costs for conveyancing in Cambourne differ, so it's a good idea to request at least four costs illustrations from varying types of companies. Make sure that you know that the charges are assured not to rise.

Last August I purchased a leasehold property in Cambourne. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I acquired a leasehold flat in Cambourne, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Cambourne with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2081

With only 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.