I am purchasing a property for cash in Heston. I have been residing for the last dozen years in Heston. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. Given that I know the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a home loan, then all but one or two of the Heston conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but she is duty bound to take that path of guidance. Do bear in mind; if you are likely to dispose of the house in the future, it will be of relevance to your prospective buyer what the searches reveal. On occasion properties with apparent issues can still throw up unfavourable search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Heston will provide you some constructive guidance in this regard.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Heston. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Heston

Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.

I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Heston I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Heston for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

Given that I will soon spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on 3 bedroom house in Heston I wish to talk to a solicitor concerning thehouse move prior to appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we recommend - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the lawyer who will be conducting your conveyancing in Heston.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important individual, not a matter number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Heston should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

The mortgage broker has suggested using their conveyancer for my conveyancing in Heston - won’t it be easier to just instruct them?

It is not always the case and you are free to use whichever conveyancing practitioner you decide for your Heston conveyancing. The lawyer recommended by an estate agent may not always be the best lawyer, they may recommend their own conveyancing firm who are based remotely. In this instance you may not have contact with your lawyer and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain updates.