Will my lawyer be making enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Alsager.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Alsager. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Alsager, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Alsager. The conventional set of property information forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard inquiry of the seller to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the vendor, then a purchaser may commence a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate reply. A buyer’s conveyancers may also conduct an environmental search. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.

My wife and I own a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Alsager. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Alsager and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Alsager I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Alsager for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

Is it possible to transfer to a new firm as I have to find one who is on the conveyancing panel. I instructed a family conveyancing solicitor in Alsager five minutes from me but the firm is not approved by

We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Alsager on the panel. Please note that the law firms that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Alsager. Using search facility on this site, you can scrutinise charges for conveyancing solicitors in Alsager and beyond.

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Alsager. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Alsager - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Alsager, conveyancing formalities finalised 1995. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Alsager with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 50

With just 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £36,100 and £41,800 plus 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 advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.