Recently contacted my conveyancing solicitor in Dereham who completed the legal work two years ago and wanted a conveyancing quote based on the same type of house sale & purchase (a leasehold premises and a freehold property) of almost identical values with a home loan from Aldermore. It looks as though am now being quoted double. Should I hunt for an alternative conveyancer?

The estimate does seem a little steep. If you are prepared to invest time comparing charges you may be able to decrease the fees slightly by perhaps £125. That being said, providing that you were pleased with the conveyancing the firm offered you mightlive to rue opting for an a cheaper lawyer. Don't forget to check that the solicitor can act for Aldermore. You can employ our search tool to select a Dereham conveyancing firm on the Aldermore member panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Dereham.

This question may be naive but I am new to the process as FTB of a ground floor flat in Dereham. Do I pick up the keys to the house on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Dereham?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the seller's conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

My aunt advised me that in buying a property in Dereham there may be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external alterations to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in Dereham which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Dereham should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Dereham off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Virgin Money. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Dereham. Conveyancing is daunting 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 conveyancing.

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

The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Dereham where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Dereham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Dereham, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Dereham with a long lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Why can't I complete my conveyancing in Dereham on a bank holiday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the funds needs to be transferred electronically between the banks of the buyer and seller's property lawyer and at present this can only occur on a working day. So you can't complete on a weekend either.