It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Fishponds. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down my deeds. Will this cause complications?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the lender or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Fishponds involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

I'm buying my first flat in Fishponds with a mortgage from Coventry Building Society. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about the side-deal as it may adversely affect my mortgage 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.

Taking into account that I am about to part with £400,000 on a house in Fishponds I wish to have a conversation with the solicitor about myhome move in advance of appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer who will be conducting your conveyancing in Fishponds.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Fishponds should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Fishponds where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Fishponds conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I inherited a studio flat in Fishponds, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. 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 Fishponds with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2073

With just 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

To what extent are Fishponds conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to issue clear conveyancing costs?

Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are prescriptive rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not to be regarded as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, constitute the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Fishponds or further afield.