The Eaton Bray conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Eaton Bray have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the TSB conveyancing panel and my previous Eaton Bray lawyer was not. I issued them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the TSB conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Kent Reliance, do Eaton Bray conveyancers incur an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Aldermore as we want to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Eaton Bray. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Eaton Bray solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Aldermore don't usually require firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Aldermore panel.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Eaton Bray. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Kent Reliance have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

Given that your lender is Kent Reliance your lawyer must follow the conveyancing requirements outlined in Part two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Kent Reliance. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Kent Reliance where a lease fails to satisfy these provisions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Eaton Bray.

Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Edwardian house in Eaton Bray. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with 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 as there may be 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 Eaton Bray 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 lenders. You can also check the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

How does conveyancing in Eaton Bray differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Eaton Bray come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because house builders in Eaton Bray tend to buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Eaton Bray or who has acted in the same development.

Completion is due on our sale of a £300,000 garden flat in Eaton Bray next week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Eaton Bray?

Eaton Bray conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges levied by managing agents :

Addressing pre-contract enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Eaton Bray Supplying insurance information Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Eaton Bray leasehold premises is £350. For Eaton Bray conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

Eaton Bray Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The majority of Eaton Bray leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. Should you acquire the property you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically accross the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is pending to be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially impact the level of the service costs or require a specific invoice. Make sure you find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Eaton Bray. If you love the flatin Eaton Bray however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced difficult determination.