Will lawyers ask for an advanced payment for conveyancing in Sawston?

If you are buying a property in Sawston your lawyer will ask you place them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is payable against the purchase price then this will be required immediately ahead of contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is needed should be transferred a couple of days prior to the day of completion.

I am purchasing a right to buy a flat in Sawston. Can I do my own conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Sawston you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Sawston.

My conveyancer has informed me that absentee landlord insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Sawston conveyancing?

The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Santander and Barnsley Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

The mortgage over my property is with Lloyds for my property in Sawston. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Lloyds?

You must advise Lloyds in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Lloyds will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel lawyer.

Aldermore have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a apartment in Sawston has been agreed to, what are the next steps?

The property agent will wish to be informed of your lawyer's details (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Aldermore or the financial adviser and complete any outstanding paperwork. Aldermore will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or owners to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Aldermore will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Sawston.

I used Arc property Solicitors several years past for my conveyancing in Sawston. Now, I need the files however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Sawston of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Sawston. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Sawston - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Sawston, conveyancing was carried out in 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Sawston with a long lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2091

With 66 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues 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 before seeking the advice of a professional.