My wife and I are purchasing a apartment in Chopwell. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we have to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

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.

This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Chopwell. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Chopwell?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Chopwell. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the vendor’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

I am buying a end of terrace house in Chopwell. We would like to an extension at the rear at the house.Will legal conveyancing on the property include enquiries to determine if these alterations are permitted?

Your conveyancer will review the deeds as conveyancing in Chopwell can sometimes reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain alterations or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Certain works need local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Chopwell is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Chopwell are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Chopwell you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Chopwell may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

What does commercial conveyancing in Chopwell cover?

Non domestic conveyancing in Chopwell incorporates a wide range of guidance, given by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. By way of example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Chopwell which have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Chopwell is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Chopwell conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I own a leasehold flat in Chopwell, conveyancing was carried out in 2008. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Chopwell with a long lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2090

You have 65 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information 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. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

A licensed conveyancer acted on my conveyancing in Chopwell seven years ago having stored my registration documents but has now closed – how do I get hold of them?

Title deeds, as such, are no longer appropriate for most properties in Chopwell are archived electronically at Land Registry. Should you need to establish ownership or are disposing of or re-mortgaging your conveyancing practitioner should obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.

If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.