Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Rayleigh. What is the rationale as to why all Rayleigh are not on all lender panels?

Banks highlight the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year.The dismissal of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its outcome included recommendations for mortgage companies to review their conveyancing panels, which kicked off a major policy change in the sector. It led to mortgage companies culling a number of firms off their official list of approved .

My wife and I are planning on selling our house in Rayleigh and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using an online conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh. Having lived in Rayleigh for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.

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 life insurance to cover that same sickness)

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Rayleigh?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Rayleigh. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Rayleigh before instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to issue a mortgage on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Rayleigh. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Rayleigh. Conveyancing and mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Rayleigh conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Rayleigh, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Rayleigh with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 50

You have 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. 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. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.