I just acquired a house at auction in Great Shelford. Conveyancing is necessary. What happens now?

Having legally committed yourself to purchase you will need to hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of urgency as you will have a pending a fixed date to complete the property. All auction property will ordinarily have an associated auction pack. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the legal papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You need to pass this on to the conveyancer working for you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that your finances are organised to complete on the date specified in the contract.

I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late mum's estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Great Shelford. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in August. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in August. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?

The CML handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be caught by that. many lenders would take a practical view as this requirement principally exists to pick up on subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Great Shelford. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £225. Not long after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Various internet forums that I have frequented warn that are the main reason for delay in Great Shelford house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the top 10 causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Great Shelford.

My business partner and I are looking to take over a lease of a shop on a shopping parade. Can you recommend conveyancers offering no-move-no fees for commercial conveyancing in Great Shelford for less than £2000?

We are happy to recommend firms who host a wealth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Great Shelford, including the disposal and purchase of businesses as well as simply property. If you are hoping to purchase or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a complete business we can find you the right firm. Regarding the fees this will depend on the structure and nuances of the deal. Please provide us with your details or email so as to enable us to furnish you with a fixed commercial conveyancing quote.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Great Shelford which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Great Shelford is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Great Shelford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Great Shelford, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Great Shelford with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2094

With just 69 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

What can I do to find out who is the owner of a property in Great Shelford?

On the basis that the premises is recorded at HM Land Registry, and you have sufficient specifics of the location of the premises, you should be able to view details from the the Land Registry of the registered proprietor for a a minimal charge.