I am purchasing a semi-detached house in Ascot. Can I do my own conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Ascot you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Ascot.

I have justdiscovered that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Ascot for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to check if the property is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Ascot conveyancing specialists.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Ascot I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Ascot in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you need a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Ascot ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Ascot conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Ascot do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Ascot, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. 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? Comparable properties in Ascot with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2091

With just 66 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

My in 2006. He has been wed, widowed and in recent months got married again. He will be selling the apartment in a few months. I suspect that he will just be requested to provide a copy of his marriage certificates to the conveyancer but he is concerned it will delay the home move. Is it worth updating the land title documents for the house?

You are not required to update the register on the basis that you have the evidence needed to show how the change of name has come about.

Any purchaser’s conveyancer will examine the registered details and require evidence by way of proof of the change of name e.g. marriage documentation.