Completed the sale of my flat in Leeds last February but our buyer keeps whats apping me to moan that their lawyer is waiting to hear from mysolicitor. What should my lawyer have done following completion?

Following your house sale your solicitor is duty bound to send the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. Where appropriate, your solicitor should also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion requirements unique to conveyancing in Leeds.

This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Leeds. Do I receive the keys to the property on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Leeds?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Leeds. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

Is it the case that all Leeds CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the UBS conveyancing list of approved practices?

It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Leeds. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Shortly after, the property lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the HSBC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Will our lawyer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Leeds.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Leeds. Plenty of people will purchase a property in Leeds, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Leeds. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard inquiry of the vendor to determine whether the property has ever been flooded. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a purchaser could commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect reply. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an environmental report. This should reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be initiated.

My husband and I are first time buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent told us that the owners will only proceed if we use the agent's preferred conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Leeds

It is improbable the vendors are behind this. If they want ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine buyer is not the way to achieve this. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to use your preferred Leeds conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthe ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a commission or meet his conveyancing figures pre-set by head office.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Leeds which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Leeds is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Leeds conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Leeds, conveyancing was carried out April 2008. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Leeds with a long lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2105

You have 80 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.