I was informed yesterday by my estate agent that my Histon lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. How can I be sure whether this is correct?

The first thing you need to do is to contact your Histon lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

A friend pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Histon there could be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Histon which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Histon should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Coventry BS. Histon conveyancing solicitors were appointed. How long does it take for Coventry BS to issue the offer to the conveyancer?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Coventry BS conducted the survey? Have you informed Coventry BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

My fiancee and I are in the throws of looking at flats in Histon and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have a solicitor on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with TSB.

It would be advisable to start your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with TSB, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the TSB conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Histon is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Histon are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Histon you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Histon may decide 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 premises.

Is it possible to transfer to a new solicitor as I have to appoint a firm on the HSBC Bank conveyancing panel. I was using a local conveyancing solicitor in Histon five minutes from me but the firm is not accepted by HSBC Bank

It would be our pleasure to assist you select a conveyancing solicitor in Histon on the HSBC Bank panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we list do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are under regulation of the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Histon. In making use of the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Histon.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £150,000 garden flat in Histon on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Histon?

For most leasehold sales in Histon conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Addressing pre-contract enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Histon Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Histon leasehold property is £350. For Histon conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

I inherited a garden flat in Histon, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Histon with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

With only 76 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.