I purchased a terraced Edwardian house in Charmouth. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Charmouth and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

I am buying my first flat in Charmouth benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent told me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Charmouth I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Charmouth in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

My husband and I are a fortnight into a leasehold purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the estate agent to handle our conveyancing in Charmouth. I am am starting to be dissatisfied with the level of service. Could you help me find new conveyancers?

A solicitor would have to be really bad in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage been generated? If so you will need to make them aware of the new contact details and ensure the loan are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid added fees and complications. That should be your starting point. Our search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Charmouth

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Charmouth. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Charmouth - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Charmouth, 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? Equivalent properties in Charmouth with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2086

With 61 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 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 without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.