This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in Woburn. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Woburn?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

We had appointed conveyancing lawyers locally in Woburn on the solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate amount for dealing with the mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by ?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your is entitled to levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by but by your Woburn . Some firms on the panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Woburn off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with . Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with , you will need to appoint a solicitor on the conveyancing panel.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Woburn?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Woburn. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Woburn I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Woburn suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Woburn, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Woburn with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

With 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures 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 want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

My lawyers in Woburn have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the bank. Is it case that being on the bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?

It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the bank directly.