Is the fact that my conveyancer in Great Shelford is not on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?

It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume 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 Great Shelford conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.

This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a first time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Great Shelford. Do I collect the keys to the premises on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Great Shelford?

On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Great Shelford. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be able to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

The mortgage over my property is with Nottingham for my property in Great Shelford. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Nottingham?

Your original mortgage agreement with Nottingham will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel lawyer.

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

Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative 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 property 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 Great Shelford postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Co-operative, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Great Shelford.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Great Shelford. 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.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford

The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? 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 supply a car parking plan.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Great Shelford in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks may not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Great Shelford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Great Shelford especially if they are familiar with such properties in Great Shelford.

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Great Shelford - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Great Shelford, conveyancing was carried out July 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Great Shelford with a long lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084

With only 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.