I am hoping to move into my new home in Silsoe next Thursday. My conveyancer now wants me to supply her with proof of content and building insurance for the property as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the lender. What risks does the lender expect the insurance to cover?

Any lawyer on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 instructions. These obligations are not specific to conveyancing in Silsoe.

The Silsoe conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Silsoe have without warning shut down. I chose them because I had to have a lawyer on the Barclays conveyancing panel and my preferred Silsoe lawyer was not. I paid them £170 on account. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Barclays conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property can not be found. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Silsoe 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?

Gone are the days when you need to have the physical deeds to establish that you own the land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Silsoe. I have land on a web site which seems to have the ideal answer If it is possible to get all this stuff completed via web that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Silsoe. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Silsoe - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the leasehold owners and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific payment. Please note if it is fewer than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.