Should lawyers request money up-front for conveyancing in Cilcain?

If you are buying a property in Cilcain your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the search fees. Ordinarily this is asked for to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is as part of the sale price then this should be required immediately in advance of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due will be payable shortly before completion.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as TSB, do Cilcain lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

We were going to get a AIP from Skipton this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Skipton recommend any Cilcain solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Cilcain solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Skipton conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Skipton through the process.

The mortgage over my property is with TSB for my property in Cilcain. Conveyancing has been completed a year 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 buy-to-let mortgage or inform TSB?

TSB must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. It may be that TSB will permit you to let 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 TSB directly. You need not do this via a TSB conveyancing panel lawyer.

Me and my brother own a terraced Edwardian house in Cilcain. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Britannia. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cilcain and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

My husband and I are novice buyers - agreed a price, but the selling agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint the agent's preferred solicitors as they need a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street solicitor used to conveyancing in Cilcain

We suspect that the owner is unaware of this ultimatum. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine buyer is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the vendors directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to appoint your preferred Cilcain conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn the estate agent a commission or meet his conveyancing figures pre-set by HQ.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cilcain with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cilcain can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Cilcain home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Cilcain state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. A minority of Cilcain leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

I inherited a studio flat in Cilcain, conveyancing having been completed in 2000. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Cilcain with a long lease are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2098

With just 73 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.