My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Malden. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Leeds Building Society approved list of lawyers. Could you assist?

The first thing you should do is e-mail the conveyancer and enquire whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively please get in touch with Leeds Building Society who may be able to help.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Malden is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Malden are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Malden you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Malden 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.

In scouring the world wide web for the phrase conveyancing in Malden it shows results of many conveyancerslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancer for my move?

The preferential method of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so seek the counsel of colleagues and those you trust who have purchased a property in Malden or a local estate agent or financial adviser. Costs for conveyancing in Malden differ, so it's sensible to request at least three fee estimates from varying types of law firms. Make sure that you clarify that the costs are guaranteed not to increase.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Malden conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Malden conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Malden conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be useful:

What are the charges for lease extension work?

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Malden conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Malden residence is 158 West Hill in November 2010. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the freehold reversion should be £99,650 This case affected 7 flats. The unexpired term was 75.88 years.

Sixweeks into a sale of a flat in Malden. Conveyancing is fine but we are being charged an extortionate amount by the landlord. To date we have issued a cheque for £237 for a leasehold management information and then a further £134.40 for answers to questions raised by the purchaser's lawyer.

You will not have any say over the level of the bill for this information but the average costs for the information for Malden leasehold premises is £395. For Malden conveyancing deals it is conventional for the seller to pay for these charges. The landlord or their agents are under no statutory obligation to answer these questions most will be content to do so - albeit often at high prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that mandates fixed charges for administrative tasks. There is no set time limit by which they are duty bound to supply answers.