Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Stoke Park?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Stoke Park your lawyer will request that you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any down payment is payable against the sale price then this should be required shortly prior to exchange of contracts. Any further balance that is due should be transferred a few days ahead of the completion date.

I'm the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Stoke Park. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in July. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in July. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?

The CML handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be impacted by that. Most lenders would take a pragmatic view as this provision is principally there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of properties.

My wife and I are spending time viewing flats in Stoke Park and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have a conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Aldermore.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

Co-operative have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a flat in Stoke Park has been agreed to, what are the next steps?

Your property agent will need to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (ensure that the solicitors are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Co-operative or the financial adviser and finalise any relevant documentation. Co-operative will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to book a slot for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Co-operative will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Stoke Park.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Stoke Park I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Stoke Park for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

There are only 62 years left on my lease in Stoke Park. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Stoke Park.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Stoke Park, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Stoke Park with an extended lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2090

With just 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Me and my wife are disposing of a Stoke Park apartment left to us some years ago in 2009. I have over 15 years conveyancing know-how and, although retired, intend to carry out the legal work. The purchaser's solicitor has informed me that their Lenders will not allow us to do our own conveyancing mandating that the funds to be sent to a solicitor's bank account.

Lending instructions to conveyancers from all CML members specify that If the vendor does not have legal representation the purchaser’s lawyers should check whether the mortgage company needs to be told so that a decision can be reached if they are prepared to proceed.