My lawyer in Walsingham has never been on on the Coventry Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Coventry Building Society panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

Your options are as follows:

1. Complete the purchase with your preferred Walsingham solicitors but Coventry Building Society will need to use a lawyer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the overall conveyancing fees and cause frustration.
2. Choose an alternative lawyer to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are on the Coventry Building Society panel

There are a variety of conveyancing solicitors in Walsingham but how do I know who I should use?

Do not opt for the cheapest Walsingham conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.

I have paid off my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Walsingham conveyancer on the RBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I have a mortgage with Santander for my property in Walsingham. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Santander?

You must advise Santander prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Santander will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Santander directly. You need not do this via a Santander conveyancing panel solicitor.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Walsingham. Conveyancing is daunting 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.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Walsingham

Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? 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.

In searching the world wide web for the phrase on line conveyancing in Walsingham it shows results of many solicitorsin the area. How do I determine which is the suitable property lawyer for me?

The ideal method of seeking a suitable conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so ask colleagues and those you trust who have bought a property in Walsingham or the reputable estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Walsingham vary, so it's a good idea to secure at least four fee calculations from varying types of conveyancers. Make sure that you know what costs in the quote includes.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Walsingham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Walsingham, conveyancing having been completed in 1998. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in Walsingham with an extended lease are worth £196,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089

With only 64 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues 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 getting professional advice.