We previously chose conveyancers based in Lower Earley on the solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further fee for the legal aspects of the mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by ?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by but by your Lower Earley . Some firms on the panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

I can not work out if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Lower Earley bank branch on numerous occasions and was advised it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Lower Earley conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend based on their published requirements. I have no idea who is right.

Provided that the is on the lender approved list, they must adhere to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Lower Earley. My mortgage broker suggested a . I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I used Arc property Solicitors a few years past for my conveyancing in Lower Earley. Now, I need the documents however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Lower Earley of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Lower Earley I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Lower Earley suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I am four weeks into a residential purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Lower Earley. I am not happy. Can you help me find new conveyancers?

A conveyancer would have to be really poor to suggest replacing them. Has your loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the replacement lawyer and get the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer needs to be on the lenders approved list to avoid supplemental charges and complications. So that should be your starting point. The search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Lower Earley

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Lower Earley which have about fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Lower Earley is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Lower Earley conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I own a garden flat in Lower Earley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Lower Earley with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 50

With 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously 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.