I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Hanham. I have a mortgage offer with Leeds Building Society. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

The mortgage over my property is with Lloyds for my property in Hanham. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Lloyds?

Lloyds must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let 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 Lloyds directly. You need not do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Hanham. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Hanham is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Hanham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Hanham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hanham may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

My husband and I are a fortnight into a residential purchase having been directed to solicitors by the estate agent to handle our conveyancing in Hanham. We are not happy. Could you help me find new solicitors?

A conveyancer would have to be very bad in order to consider replacing them. Has your loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to inform them of the new contact details and get the mortgage documents are re-sent. Your conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid added charges and delays. That should be your starting point. Our search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Hanham

We expect to complete our sale of a £300,000 garden flat in Hanham in 5 days. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hanham?

Hanham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty to invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I purchased a basement flat in Hanham, conveyancing formalities finalised July 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Hanham with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2092

With just 68 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as 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 are not able to supply a more accurate figure 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Partway through the sale of a leasehold flat in Hanham. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we are being charged an extortionate amount by the freeholder. So far we have paid £295.50 for a leasehold management pack and then another £200 plus VAT for answers to questions raised by the purchaser's conveyancer.

Your property lawyer will unlikely have any impact over the level of the fee for this information but the typical costs for the information for Hanham leasehold premises is £395. When it comes to Hanham conveyancing sales it is conventional for the owner to pay for these charges. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to address such questions most will agree to do so - albeit often at high prices out of proportion to the work involved. Regretfully there is no statute that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. There is no set time frame by which they are required to provide the information.