I require conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (6 years built) in Histon. Almost all the appartments are already disposed of. Is it strictly necessary to order neighbourhood searches for my conveyancing in Histon?

Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your lender will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Histon conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor, will ’encourage’, perhaps strongly, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or it may be necessary to find a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Histon.

I used Stirling Law several years past for my conveyancing in Histon. Now, I need my files however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Histon of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Histon I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Histon suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

We're new on the property ladder - had an offer accepted, but the property agent informed us that the seller will only go ahead if we instruct the agent's preferred lawyers as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Histon

We suspect that the owner is unaware of this requirement. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Speak to the owners direct and make sure they understand (a)you are motivated purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred Histon conveyancing firm - not the ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a commission or hit his conveyancing targets demanded by senior management.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Histon ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Histon conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Histon do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Histon Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Who manages the block? Are there any major works anticipated that could increase the maintenance fees? Plenty Histon leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments throughout the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.