IfI were to buy a simple residential housein Essex for cash and have no survey and no local authority searches how much would I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Essex?

The sole reduction in fees you would make on is the Essex conveyancing searches. A conveyancer is obliged to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, communicating with the sellers solicitor, stamp duty return, register the title etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a charge however it won't be significant.

I am buying a new build house in Essex with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my lawyer about the side-deal as it will jeopardize my mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society. 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.

How do I use the search app to get a fee calculation from a conveyancing solicitor in Essex on the panel for my lender?

Step one is to pick a mortgage company such as Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society or Godiva Mortgages Ltd then choose your location for instance Essex. Conveyancing organisations in Essex and further afield should be shown.

We're new on the property ladder - agreed a price, yet the property agent advised that the vendor will only issue a contract if we appoint the agent's recommended solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Essex

We suspect that the owner is not behind this demand. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred Essex conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or meet his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by corporate headquarters.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Essex where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Essex conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Essex, conveyancing was carried out 4 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 Essex with an extended lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

With only 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.