What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Cottingham?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Cottingham and elsewhere in East Yorkshire is often a confrontational experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes a mortgage company. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Cottingham should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose role it is to act in your legal interests and to protect you.

There is a worrying creep in the "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. You should always trust your solicitor ahead of all other parties in the home moving process.

The Cottingham conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Cottingham have suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a firm on the Santander conveyancing panel and my previous Cottingham lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £195 for searches. What should be my next steps?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Santander conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help.

A friend recommended that where I am buying in Cottingham I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Cottingham conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Cottingham around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Cottingham Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Cottingham Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Cottingham.

Should I go with a Cottingham conveyancing lawyer based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can carry out the conveyancing but they are based 300kilometers drive away.

The benefit of a local Cottingham conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Cottingham know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and the majority were happy that must surpass using an unfamiliar Cottingham conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Cottingham based.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Cottingham. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cottingham should include some of the following:

Changes to the premises What options are available to the landlord where you are in breach of your lease terms? Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home What options are open to you if another tenant in the building is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Cottingham, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Cottingham with a long lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2076

With only 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as 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 due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.