Recently contacted my conveyancing solicitor in Lake District who completed the legal work two years ago and wanted a conveyancing quote based on the same type of home move (a leasehold premises and a freehold premises) of similar values with a loan from Bank of Ireland. It looks as though am now being charged double. Better the devil I know or should I seek out a cheaper internet firm of conveyancing solicitor?

The quote is fractionally on the expensive side. If you shop around you may be able to decrease the fees slightly by as much as £125. On the other hand, assuming were pleased with the service the firm provided you maycome to regret choosing an a cheaper solicitor. If is important to ensure that the firm can act for Bank of Ireland. Do employ our search tool to choose a Lake District conveyancing firm on the Bank of Ireland approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Lake District.

My relative recommended that if I am purchasing in Lake District I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Lake District conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Lake District around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Lake District Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Lake District.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Lake District is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can give?

Flying freeholds in Lake District are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Lake District you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Lake District may determine 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.

My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the estate agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we instruct the agent's recommended lawyers as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in Lake District

It is highly unlikely the owners are behind this. Should the seller want ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the owners directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you will continue to appoint your own,trusted Lake District conveyancing firm - rather thanthose that will earn the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or achieve conveyancing targets pre-set by head office.

There are only 72 years left on my flat in Lake District. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Lake District.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Lake District - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Can you tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the maintenance costs? On the whole the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Lake District require tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. Many Lake District leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the management company. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments during the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.