My friend recommended that where I am buying in Lakenham I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Lakenham conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Lakenham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Lakenham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Lakenham Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Lakenham.

My wife and I own a renovated Georgian house in Lakenham. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Nottingham Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Lakenham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

How does conveyancing in Lakenham differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Lakenham contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because developers in Lakenham typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Lakenham or who has acted in the same development.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £225,000 garden flat in Lakenham next Friday. The management company has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Lakenham?

Lakenham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Lakenham, conveyancing was carried out April 1995. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Lakenham with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2082

With only 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

I dont have enough spare cash to pay a 10% deposit on my apartment purchase in Lakenham , but I still want to go ahead. Do I have options?

One option is to try and accept a smaller deposit. Most vendors will agree to a lesser deposit or even no deposit for a first time buyer or 100% mortgage. Be aware though that if you fail to complete you will still need to hand over a minimum of 10% of the purchase price regardless of how much deposit was agreed.

You can also agree a simultaneous exchange and completion as no deposit is required for this however neither party will be tied in until completion actually takes place and it can be risky if sellers change their mind at the last second