I have just been advised by my broker that my St Andrews the law firm I have appointed is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your St Andrews lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a St Andrews conveyancing firm that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

I am buying a property for cash in St Andrews. I have resided for the previous dozen years in St Andrews. Conveyancing searches are expensive. As I have knowledge of the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a home loan, then the vast majority of the St Andrews conveyancing searches are optional. Your conveyancer will try and steer you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but she is duty bound to take that path of advice. Do bear in mind; if you are intend to sell the house at a future date, it will likely be be of relevance to your future buyer what the searches determine. On occasion properties with apparent issues can still show up unpredicted search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in St Andrews will be able to give you some helpful guidance concerning this.

I decided to have a survey done on a house in St Andrews ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks will not give a loan on this type of premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in St Andrews. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in St Andrews especially if they are familiar with such properties in St Andrews.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in St Andrews. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in St Andrews are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in St Andrews in which case you should be shopping around for a St Andrews conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I purchased a split level flat in St Andrews, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in St Andrews with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

With only 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Are St Andrews conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to supply transparent conveyancing figures?

Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are set rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, constitute the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in St Andrews or across England and Wales.