My husband and I are buying a newly built apartment in Manselton and my conveyancer is advising me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to sign contracts and I don't want to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Will lawyers request money up-front for my conveyancing in Manselton?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Manselton your solicitor will ask you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is payable against the total price then this should be asked for shortly in advance of contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days prior to the day of completion.

Is it necessary to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Manselton?

Unless a prior acquisition of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you could expect conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Manselton to continue to recommend a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Manselton I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Manselton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Manselton. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If 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. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Manselton.

I purchased a studio flat in Manselton, conveyancing was carried out in 2009. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Manselton with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2089

With 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.