Our solicitor has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Milton Keynes. The seller’s lawyers have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancer has advised that he must check that the bank is willing to move forward with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Milton Keynes. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you have to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you must instruct a conveyancing solicitor soon as you will have a tight a drop dead date to complete the deal. All auction property will ordinarily have an associated auction set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold premises the auction pack should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You must pass this on to the conveyancer working for you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I happen to be the single recipient of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Milton Keynes. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in August. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in August. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be affected by that. many banks would take a pragmatic view as this clause is chiefly there to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as RBS, do Milton Keynes solicitors incur an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

Should our solicitor be making enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Milton Keynes.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Milton Keynes. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Milton Keynes, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or by their lawyers which will figure out the risks in Milton Keynes. The standard information sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the seller to discover whether the premises has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a compensation claim stemming from an misleading answer. The buyer’s lawyers will also conduct an environmental search. This will indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be carried out.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Milton Keynes. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Milton Keynes are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Milton Keynes in which case you should be looking for a Milton Keynes conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I inherited a garden flat in Milton Keynes, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Milton Keynes with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

With only 58 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending 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 are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

My step-mother purchased her house in Milton Keynes in 2006. She has since got married, widowed and has recently remarried. She now intends to dispose of the Milton Keynes property. I think she will simply be need to supply copies of her marriage papers to the conveyancing practitioner however she is anxious it could delay the sale of the house. Should she appoint a conveyancer to update the Land Registry documents for the property?

The is no need to update the title for the property providing you have the evidence required to demonstrate how the change of name occurred.

The purchaser’s conveyancing practitioner should examine the registered entries and need evidence to prove the change of name e.g. marriage certificates.