We are buying a apartment in Leyland. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

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 recently had an offer accepted on a house in Leyland. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A few days later, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.

Planning on purchasing a maisonette in Leyland. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Santander conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Leyland conveyancer is on the Santander conveyancing panel.

My colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Leyland I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Leyland conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Leyland around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Leyland Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Leyland.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Leyland is the location of the property. Can you offer any advice?

Flying freeholds in Leyland are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Leyland you must be sure that your lawyer goes 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 Leyland may ascertain 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 residence.

We are four weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to a firm by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Leyland. We are not happy. Can you help me find new conveyancers?

A conveyancer would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? If so you need to inform them of the new lawyer and have the loan are re-sent. Your conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid supplemental costs and delays. So that should be your starting point. The search tool should help you find a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Leyland

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Leyland. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Leyland ?

The majority of houses in Leyland are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Leyland in which case you should be looking for a Leyland conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Leyland, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding properties in Leyland with a long lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077

With 51 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £30,400 and £35,200 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 provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.