My conveyancer has discovered a defect with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Ascot. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancer has advised that he must ensure that the lender is willing to move forward with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

Even though you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the bank are the client. The appropriate lender conditions have to be complied with.

Is there a search tool that I can use to find out if the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Ascot is on the mortgage lender’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Bank of Scotland thus spending £192.00 in another set of conveyancing charges.

Please do take advantage of the search tool on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and type ‘Ascot’ or your preferred area and you will discover a number of lawyer located in Ascot or nearest you.

I own a terraced Edwardian house in Ascot. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Britannia. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ascot and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

My father-in-law has recommend that I appoint his conveyancers in Ascot. Should I use them?

Much as we are happy to recommend a Ascot conveyancing lawyer it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have actually used the solicitor that you are contemplating using.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £275,000 flat in Ascot in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ascot?

Ascot conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty to levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Ascot, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Ascot with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With only 61 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £18,100 and £20,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.