Some advice if I may. My Raglan conveyancer is informing me me that he has toorder Raglan conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Virgin Moneysolicitor panel. These Raglan checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?

You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a home loan with a mortgage company your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook provisions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Raglan conveyancing searches.

I have justfound out that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Raglan for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Raglan conveyancing specialists.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Raglan I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Raglan suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

I was recommended by a few selling agents in Raglan to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your services over and above another?

We refuse to make any commission for sending work our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

I want to let out my leasehold flat in Raglan. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Raglan do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Raglan, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Corresponding flats in Raglan with a long lease are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2083

You have 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.