My conveyancer has informed me that absentee landlord insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Gloucester?

The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

My wife and I have organised the release of further funds on our mortgage from Virgin Money as we want to carry out renovations to our home in Gloucester. Are we obliged to select a bricks and mortar Gloucester solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Virgin Money do not ordinarily appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Virgin Money panel.

Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Gloucester solicitor - who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Gloucester postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Gloucester.

4 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Gloucester took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Gloucester. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

How difficult is it to swap firm as I have to find one who is on the Yorkshire Building Society conveyancing list. I had appointed a family conveyancing solicitor in Gloucester round the corner but the firm is not approved by Yorkshire Building Society

It would be our pleasure to help you select a conveyancing solicitor in Gloucester on the Yorkshire Building Society panel. Please note that the solicitors that we on the directory do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are fully regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Gloucester. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can compare costs for conveyancing solicitors in Gloucester and throughout England and Wales.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
A minority of Gloucester leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Gloucester leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Gloucester, conveyancing formalities finalised January 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Gloucester with an extended lease are worth £179,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082

With only 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as legals.

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 comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.