I am obtaining a offer of a home loan from Santander. I hope to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Greenfield. Does the Santander Solicitor panel allow for Licensed Conveyancers?

The Santander conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the CML or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Greenfield. Conveyancing solicitors have now been instructed on the sale but I can't track down the deeds. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they could stored with the conveyancers who acted in the purchase. Secondly in most cases the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Greenfield relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

My wife and I are intent on selling our house in Greenfield and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Greenfield lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Greenfield. Having lived in Greenfield for 4 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

I work for a long established estate agency in Greenfield where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Greenfield conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 own a studio flat in Greenfield, conveyancing was carried out October 2009. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Greenfield with an extended lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With only 64 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £15,200 and £17,600 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is 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 the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should 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.

Should I be concerned if there is an issue with the searches carried out as part of my conveyancing in Greenfield?

On the whole, most concerns that arise in Greenfield conveyancing search results can be dealt with prior to completion or indemnity insurance may be put in place. You need to remember that regardless of the fact that you may be acquiring the property and may be content to accept the search results, your mortgage lender may not, and when all said and done the decision rests with them.