In the event thatI was to purchase a freehold housein North Somerset for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in North Somerset?

The only saving you would make on is the North Somerset conveyancing searches. The still got to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with the vendors , stamp duty return, register the ownership etc. A slight saving might be made by not needing to register a mortgage however it will not be a lot.

I am planning on selling our home in North Somerset and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A high street North Somerset lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in North Somerset. Having lived in North Somerset for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should 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 health insurance to cover that same sickness)

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in North Somerset I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in North Somerset for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I was advised by two or three local property agents in North Somerset to locate a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your site over alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any referral fee for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

North Somerset Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the property for a couple of years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. Many North Somerset leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually in instalments accross the year. This can vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.