Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Filton. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Santander. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should read 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 Filton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

I am buying a new build house in Filton with a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Filton is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Filton are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Filton you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Filton may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my father I am disposing of a property in Swansea but reside in Filton. My conveyancer (based 200 miles from mehas requested that I execute a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Filton to attest this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Filton based

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £275,000 garden flat in Filton next Tuesday. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Filton?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Filton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Completing pre-contract questions Where consent is required before sale in Filton Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Filton leasehold premises is £350. For Filton conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

I inherited a garden flat in Filton, conveyancing was carried out November 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Filton with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2078

With only 53 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 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 cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.