I am buying a property mortgage free in Knowle. I have lived for the previous 15 years in Knowle. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I know the road and vicinity intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

In the absence of a home loan, then the vast majority of the Knowle conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will try and sway you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but she has a professional duty to take that path of encouragement . Do bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house at a future date, it may be of interest to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. Sometimes premises with day to day issues can still show up adverse search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Knowle will provide you some helpful advice here.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Knowle. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Knowle

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Knowle is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Knowle are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Knowle you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Knowle may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

We're FTB’s - agreed a price, but the estate agent told us that the owners will only proceed if we instruct their preferred conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Knowle

We suspect that the owner is unaware of this request. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Contact the vendors directly and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are ready to progress, with finances in place © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to use your preferred Knowle conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by senior management.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Knowle properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Knowle is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Knowle, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Knowle with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2088

You have 63 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.