This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a ground floor flat in Leyland. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will use a local conveyancing solicitor in Leyland?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Leyland. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be called to receive the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Leyland. I have a mortgage offer with Nottingham. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nottingham, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.

I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Nationwide are being a right pain. The Leyland solicitor who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Nationwide are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Nationwide have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

What can a local search inform me about the property my wife and I purchasing in Leyland?

Leyland conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Searches UK The local search plays a central role in many a Leyland conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic headings.

How does conveyancing in Leyland differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Leyland come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Leyland typically purchase 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 property lawyers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Leyland or who has acted in the same development.

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Leyland basement flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Leyland conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will indicate if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Leyland do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I bought a leasehold flat in Leyland, conveyancing was carried out March 1996. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Leyland with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2102

With 78 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Are there any apps to help find a Leyland conveyancing solicitor on the lender conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 20kilometers to attend the lawyer.

Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel tool on this page. Please choose the lender and your location, in this case Leyland and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest Leyland. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the lender solicitor panel.