What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Kirkstall? Is this really necessary?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the ID of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing instruction. The Client Care letter that you need to sign should confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. If you refuse to supply ID verification documents, your lawyer would not be able to act for you.

We are buying a apartment in Kirkstall. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I happen to be the only recipient of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Kirkstall. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in March. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in March. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?

The CML handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be caught by that. many lenders would take a practical view as this provision is chiefly there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.

Aldermore have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a apartment in Kirkstall has been agreed to, what are the next steps?

Your property agent will wish to be informed of your solicitor's details (ensure that the property lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Telephone Aldermore or your broker and finalise any relevant paperwork. Aldermore will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to arrange an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Aldermore will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Kirkstall.

I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Kirkstall. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. 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 Kirkstall of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Kirkstall. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kirkstall

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. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.

I work for a busy estate agency in Kirkstall where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Kirkstall conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I purchased a basement flat in Kirkstall, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Kirkstall with a long lease are worth £227,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2095

With just 71 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.