We are buying our first property. The conveyancing practitioner has messagedto enquire if we wish to order extra conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's appropriate for conveyancing in St Mellons

The extent of St Mellons conveyancing searches depends primarily on the property, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your knowledge of the region and risks, your overall approach to risk. What is important is that you adequately understand what information the searches could supply. You may then decide if you consider that you need that information. If uncertain, ask the lawyer to explain.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in St Mellons

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in St Mellons and Solicitor practices in St Mellons who provide Conveyancing services It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. The two can conduct associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in St Mellons. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Bank of Ireland panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

About to purchase flat in St Mellons. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the St Mellons conveyancer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.

A friend recommended that if I am buying in St Mellons I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your St Mellons conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about St Mellons around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning St Mellons.

I used Arc property Solicitors several years ago for my conveyancing in St Mellons. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. 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 St Mellons of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St Mellons. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in St Mellons - 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 acquired a 2 bed flat in St Mellons, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in St Mellons with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2087

You have 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.