I am selling my house in Somerset. Will my lawyer need to be required to be on the Santander conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Santander conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently in recent years.

four months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Somerset took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Somerset. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Somerset

Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Please supply a car parking plan. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.

Hoping to buy a property located in Somerset and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Somerset. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Somerset area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Somerset. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Somerset conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Somerset conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Somerset conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:

How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Somerset, conveyancing having been completed May 2000. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Somerset with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2100

With 75 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.