I am considering remortgaging my home in Shirehampton, does my lawyer have to be on the Virgin Money Solicitor panel?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel, but Virgin Money would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.

My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Shirehampton. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barnsley Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Barnsley Building Society to clarify?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Shirehampton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Shirehampton I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Shirehampton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage 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 current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I was pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Shirehampton to get a quote from a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to offer your site rather than another?

We refuse to make any financial incentive for directing people to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Shirehampton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton should include some of the following:

Rent payments - what is due and when you need to pay, and be on notice if this will change in the future You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions What remedies are open the freeholder should you breach a clause of your lease? Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or working from home The unexpired lease term. You should receive guidance as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

Leasehold Conveyancing in Shirehampton - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not built into the service charges, although there some managing agents in Shirehampton ask leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a one off invoice.