I am acquiring a property mortgage free in Colerne. I have been living for the previous 20 years in Colerne. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I have knowledge of the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Colerne conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will try and sway you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but she is duty bound to do this. Do take into account; if you are likely to dispose of the house in the future, it will be of relevance to your prospective buyer what the searches reveal. Sometimes premises with apparent issues can still throw up detrimental search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Colerne will be able to give you some sensible advice in this regard.

I am helping my sister sell her property in Colerne. Will the conveyancing solicitor commission the energy assessment or do I organise this?

After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates remained a compulsory component of moving house. An energy assessment should be commissioned prior to the property being advertised. It is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers normally organise. If you are instructing a Colerne conveyancing solicitor they may be able to arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with reputable local assessors

Is it the case that all Colerne solicitor practices on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

About to purchase house in Colerne. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Colerne lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Colerne?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Colerne. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am purchasing my first flat in Colerne with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it may adversely affect my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Colerne. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Colerne ?

The majority of houses in Colerne are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Colerne in which case you should be shopping around for a Colerne conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I acquired a basement flat in Colerne, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Colerne with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

With only 71 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.