Willretaining a Somerset conveyancing practitioner make the legal transfer of property easier?

Established third party connections are another important factor to consider when appointing conveyancing lawyers. Somerset conveyancers enjoy connections with lenders and agents, local authorities, valuers and other law firms meaning the whole process is going to be much smoother for you. Possessing a well rounded intelligence of the local area is an advantage.

As I am unsure how the conveyancing bit works what is the most important piece of guidance you can give me concerning purchase conveyancing in Somerset?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Somerset or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of room for friction between you and other parties involved in the transaction. E.g., the vendor, property agent and even potentially your mortgage company. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Somerset is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE party in the legal process whose interest is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a definite creep in the "blame" culture- someone has to be blamed for the process being so protracted. We recommend that you must always trust your conveyancer above all other players when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

I purchased my house on 13 January and the transaction details is yet to be on the land registry website. Any reason for this? My conveyancing solicitor in Somerset said it should be concluded in less than a month. Are properties in Somerset uniquely lengthy to register?

There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Somerset registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timeframes can vary according to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any interested persons or bodies. At present in the region of 80% of such applications are completed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Registration occurs after the new owner is living at the premises so post completion formalities is not typically primary concern but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers should communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.

I'm buying my first flat in Somerset with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it could put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Somerset conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Somerset conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Somerset conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be helpful:

Can they put you in touch with clients in Somerset who can give a testimonial? What are the charges for lease extension work?

I bought a 1st floor flat in Somerset, conveyancing formalities finalised April 2000. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Somerset with a long lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2100

With only 75 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.