Please help. My Surrey solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound toapply for Surrey conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the HSBCapproved lawyer panel. Is this really necessary?

You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a home loan with a mortgage company your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Surrey conveyancing searches.

Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Surrey. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?

Given that you are now exchanged you now have to find a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of priority as you are faced with a pending deadline in which to complete the property. An auction property will have a corresponding auction pack. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold property the auction pack should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that your finances are in place to complete on the date specified in the contract.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a ground floor flat in Surrey. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Surrey?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Surrey. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to receive the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Surrey. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Not long after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.

I need some fast conveyancing in Surrey as I am under an ultimatum to exchange contracts within 2 weeks. Thankfully I do not need a mortgage. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are are a mortgage free purchaser you have the choice not to have searches conducted although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Surrey the following are instances of what can show up and adversely affect future saleability: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Fees, Outstanding Grants, Road Schemes,...

I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing solicitor in Surrey for my home move. Can I see a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?

Members of the public may read presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor telephone calls for training purposes.

What makes a Surrey lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Surrey. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Surrey, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Surrey with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2079

With only 56 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.