My relative advised me that if I am purchasing in Ettington I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Ettington conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Ettington around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Ettington Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Ettington Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Ettington.

4 months have gone by following my purchase conveyancing in Ettington took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

How does conveyancing in Ettington differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Ettington contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Ettington usually purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Ettington or who has acted in the same development.

I am a fortnight into a freehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the selling agent to carry out the conveyancing in Ettington. We are not happy. Could you help me find new conveyancers?

They would have to be really bad in order to consider changing them. Has your mortgage offer been issued? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the new solicitor and have the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company panel to avoid escalating costs and complications. That should be your starting point. Our search tool will assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Ettington

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ettington from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ettington can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers.
You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ettington state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

I inherited a studio flat in Ettington, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Ettington with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2085

You have 59 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

The figure above 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 a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.