In the event thatI were to buy a straightforward housein Sawston for cash and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Sawston?

The sole reduction in fees you would achieve is the Sawston conveyancing searches. A property lawyer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with the vendors solicitor, SDLT return, register the ownership etc. A slight saving might be made by not having to register a charge however it will not be significant.

I have 70 years remaining on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Sawston. Conveyancing solicitors on the Chelsea Building Society panel can deal with such extensions right?

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 28/1/2026 the requirements read as follows :

My colleague recommended that if I am buying in Sawston I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Sawston conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Sawston around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Sawston.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Sawston benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent told me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it may impact my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Sawston conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sawston conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sawston conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be of use:

If they are not ALEP accredited then why not? What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Sawston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders have control and even though a managing agent is often retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Who is in charge of the building? Plenty Sawston leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this liability, normally in instalments during the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.