My wife and I own a 4 bedroom Edwardian property in Crewkerne. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Nationwide Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should review 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 Crewkerne and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Crewkerne before appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to give a mortgage on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Crewkerne. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Crewkerne especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Crewkerne.

My husband and I are 17 days into a leasehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the high street agent to carry out the conveyancing in Crewkerne. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

They would need to be very bad in order to consider replacing them. Has your loan offer been sent? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and ensure the loan are re-issued. The solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid supplemental costs and delays. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our search tool should assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Crewkerne

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Crewkerne. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as usual because all rents and service invoices should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I inherited a studio flat in Crewkerne, conveyancing formalities finalised May 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Crewkerne with over 90 years remaining are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2075

With only 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

I have been told by many estate agents that it should take six to eight weeks for Crewkerne conveyancing to complete.This was 3 ago. The paperwork was only received from the vendors property lawyer yesterday so does the clock start running now?

You should be realistic concerning timelines. Moving home in Crewkerne takes on average about ten weeks. This timeframe is not because solicitor are slow and deliberately delay matters. The amount of money involved in buying any property is so high, the buyer’s property lawyer needing to raise a wide range of enquiries, searches and supplemental checks to protect the purchaser and their lender (if there is to be a home loan) from expensive, avoidable problems. Conveyancing in Crewkerne involves obtaining information from a range of different parties, for example other solicitor, local councils, private companies, lenders. Many of these are efficient. Others aren't. It is worth noting that, no matter how quickly your solicitor do their part, if the people you are purchasing from or are selling to aren't ready, nothing can go ahead until they are up to speed.