I require quick conveyancing in Easton as I am faced with an ultimatum to complete in less than one month. Thankfully I do not require a mortgage. Is it possible to escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are are a mortgage free purchaser you are at free not to have searches carried out although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. With plenty of history conveyancing in Easton the following are instances of what can arise and therefore affect market value: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Fees, Overdue Grants, Road Schemes,...

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one near me in Easton I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Easton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

Am I better off to appoint a Easton conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? An old friend can handle the legal formalities however his firm is located 300kilometers away.

The primary upside of using a high street Easton conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Easton know how is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Easton conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Easton based.

Last December I purchased a leasehold house in Easton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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 inherited a garden flat in Easton, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Easton with a long lease are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2102

You have 78 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Much to my surprise my property lawyer in Easton has requested from me personal identification documents asserting that this is part of his retainer as a conveyancer on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?

Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the lender. This is not unique to conveyancing in Easton