I am buying a house without a mortgage in Tintagel. I have resided for the last Seventeen years in Tintagel. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I know the road and vicinity intimately must I have all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a home loan, then almost all of the Tintagel conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but he is duty bound to take that path of guidance. Do consider; if you are likely to dispose of the house one day, it will be of relevance to your prospective buyer what the searches disclose. Sometimes premises with apparent issues can still reveal adverse search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Tintagel will be able to give you some practical advice in this regard.

My stepmother advised me that in purchasing a property in Tintagel there may be a number of restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Tintagel which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Tintagel should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

We expect to receive a DIP from Kent Reliance this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Kent Reliance recommend any Tintagel solicitors on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Tintagel solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Kent Reliance through the process.

The mortgage over my property is with TSB for my property in Tintagel. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform TSB?

You must advise TSB in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of TSB’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 TSB directly. You need not do this via a TSB conveyancing panel firm.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Tintagel. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Tintagel

The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. 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.

I own a leasehold house in Tintagel. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Tintagel who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Tintagel conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I inherited a studio flat in Tintagel, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Tintagel with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

With only 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £20,000 and £23,000 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional 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.

Are there any distinct benefits to using a high street conveyancing practitioner in Tintagel

Many buyers and sellers in Tintagel opt for a nearby high street lawyer so that they can visit in the event that they have questions, and to deliver mortgage deeds rather than run the risk of relying on the post.

There is a marginal edge in selecting a solicitor local to a premises you are purchasing, due to the familiarity of the area and potential local issues - however this is moot. Many conveyancers are now over the web and may be practically anywhere.