I have just been advised by my estate agent that my Shefford the law firm I have appointed is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain if this is indeed the case?

You need to contact your Shefford conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to inform you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

My partner and I are purchasing a new build flat in Shefford and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I don't want to delay deal. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to appoint their panel solicitor as I would prefer to appoint a Shefford based conveyancing firm?

You should check but the chances are that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers should you take up the "fee-free" incentive. Call the lender to explore if they make available a cash alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Shefford.

My stepmother informed me that in purchasing a property in Shefford there may be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Shefford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Shefford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. Shefford conveyancing practitioners were selected. How long does it take for UBS to send the offer to the lawyer?

There is no definitive answer here. Have UBS completed the survey? Have you advised UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I currently have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Shefford. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

You must advise Virgin Money prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel lawyer.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Shefford. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I inherited a leasehold flat in Shefford, conveyancing formalities finalised March 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Shefford with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2091

You have 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. 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 before getting professional advice.