We are purchasing a house in Kingswood. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to put funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

A relative pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Kingswood there could be various restrictions preventing external alterations to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Kingswood which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Kingswood should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Kingswood. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £225. A few days later, 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.

It has been three months following my purchase conveyancing in Kingswood completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. 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.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Kingswood. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood

Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier?

In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandfather I am disposing of a house in Swansea but reside in Kingswood. My lawyer (approximately 260 kilometers awayneeds me to sign a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Kingswood who can witness this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Kingswood

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Kingswood. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the maintenance contribution as normal as all rents and maintenance invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Kingswood, conveyancing was carried out in 1995. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Kingswood 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 expires on 21st October 50

With 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £36,100 and £41,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns 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 placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.