Intending to buy a flat in Lingfield. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Barclays 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 Lingfield conveyancing practitioner is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.

I have instructed a Lingfield lawyer having made sure that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Lingfield postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Lingfield.

My sealed bid on a semi in Lingfield has been accepted, the vendors do however have a tied purchase. The sellers have placed an offer on a flat, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments booked. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Lingfield. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Co-operative going?

It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then valuation, Lingfield conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancer is on the Co-operative approved list. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some home buyers will apply for the mortgage with Co-operative and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they request their conveyancer to press on with searches.

I am selling our property in Lingfield and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Lingfield. Having lived in Lingfield for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Lingfield. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Lingfield

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? 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. 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. Please supply a car parking plan. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Lingfield is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Lingfield are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Lingfield you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Lingfield 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Lingfield. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Lingfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Please tell me if there are any major works in the planning that could increase the service fees? Be sure to find out if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Lingfield. If you love the flatin Lingfield yet your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard compromise. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?