Are the BSA planning on creating a searchable register to list law firms on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel for instance in Totnes?

We are not aware of any plans on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.

There are numerous conveyancing solicitors in Totnes but how do I know who I should use?

Do not opt for the lowest Totnes conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Totnes. Do I receive the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Totnes?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Totnes. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A few days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Totnes with a loan from Bank of Ireland. The sellers would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not to tell my conveyancer about this extras as it may adversely affect 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.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Totnes I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Totnes suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Totnes. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the service charge as you normally would because all ground rent and maintenance payments should be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Totnes, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Totnes with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2087

With 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure 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. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.