Is the fact that my solicitor in Dorchester is not listed on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of his work?

It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should contact the Dorchester conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

I have justbeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Dorchester for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to check if the property is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Dorchester conveyancing specialists.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Dorchester. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in Dorchester I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Dorchester for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage that many years will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £400,000 apartment in Dorchester in just under a week. The management company has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Dorchester?

Dorchester conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves administration charges raised by managing agents :

Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Dorchester Supplying insurance information Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Dorchester leasehold premises is £350. For Dorchester conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Dorchester, conveyancing was carried out in 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Dorchester with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2085

With just 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.