We are purchasing a apartment in Kempston. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I'm the single recipient of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Kempston. The Kempston property was put into my name in January. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in January. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be affected by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the lender as this obligation primarily exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.

Can I be sure that the Kempston conveyancing solicitor on the HSBC panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Kempston seeking recommendations is a sensible starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always suggest that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your transaction.

I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Kempston for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Kempston conveyancing specialists.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Kempston I like with a park and station nearby, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Kempston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kempston with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kempston can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives.
If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Kempston conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. A minority of Kempston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice 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 yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Kempston state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kempston - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

You should be aware that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to extend the lease. This question is important as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details Does the lease have more than 82 years remaining?

A couple of months ago I was advised by my bank that their approved solicitors operate no move no fee basis for conveyancing in Kempston. I had a purchase abort nevertheless the solicitors have invoiced for search fees! They say the fees are nothing to do with their fees!

Kempston conveyancing search charges are disbursements not solicitors costs as these are payable to independent parties.