I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Kempston off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Clydesdale. 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 use 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 Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Kempston. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the UBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the UBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Aldermore are being difficult. The Kempston solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Aldermore are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Aldermore have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Aldermore have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Aldermore may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I am purchasing a new build house in Kempston with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank. The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it may impact my loan with Lloyds TSB Bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Kempston ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may not grant a mortgage on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Kempston. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Kempston to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

Last March I purchased a leasehold house in Kempston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Kempston, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Kempston with a long lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078

With just 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Would local authority permission be necessary to split a house into a couple of appartments in Kempston? This has occurred to a house next door to my home in Kempston and was not aware of it happening until after the works were done.

Planning Permission yes. Building Reg Approval yes.