I am purchasing a right to buy a flat in Higham Wood. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Higham Wood you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Higham Wood.

What will a local search tell me about the property my wife and I buying in Higham Wood?

Higham Wood conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance Xpress Legal The local search plays a central part in most Higham Wood conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.

It has been four months since my purchase conveyancing in Higham Wood took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Higham Wood I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Higham Wood suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Higham Wood. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Higham Wood who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Higham Wood conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I inherited a studio flat in Higham Wood, conveyancing was carried out April 2003. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Higham Wood with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2081

With only 56 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.