All was ready to complete my purchase in Lee On The Solent next Thursday. My lawyer now wants me to supply her with evidence of content and building insurance for the property as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the lender. What does the insurance need to cover?

Any lawyer on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. These requirements are not specific to conveyancing in Lee On The Solent.

Can I use your services to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Lee On The Solent even if I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example if I wish to acquire an office in Lee On The Solent with a loan from Birmingham Midshires?

Our search tool is primarily used to locate residential conveyancing solicitors in Lee On The Solent but we have set out towards the end of this page a few Lee On The Solent commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the firm directly to see if they are also authorised to represent Birmingham Midshires

The Lee On The Solent conveyancing firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in Lee On The Solent have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I had to have a firm on the Nottingham conveyancing panel and my previous Lee On The Solent lawyer was not. I paid them £170 in advance. What are my options?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Nottingham 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 may be able to assist.

Am I better off to go with a Lee On The Solent conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? An old friend can execute the legal work however they are based approximately 350kilometers drive away.

The benefit of a local Lee On The Solent conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and they were happy that must surpass using an unfamiliar Lee On The Solent conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Lee On The Solent. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I invested in buying a basement flat in Lee On The Solent, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Lee On The Solent with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2093

You have 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.