Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Highnam. My lender is Chelsea Building Society
Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 22/11/2025, the requirements read as follows :
I am helping my niece sell her flat in Highnam. Does the solicitor arrange an EPC or it is for the owner to see to?
After the abolition of HIPs, EPC’s was retained a mandatory component of selling a house. An EPC should be to hand in advance of the property being advertised. This is not a task that lawyers ordinarily organise. Where you are instructing a Highnam conveyancing practitioner they might help arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with reputable Highnam providers
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a two bedroom flat in Highnam. Do I collect the keys to the house on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Highnam?
There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be called to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Bank of Ireland. Is it usual for Bank of Ireland to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Highnam is approved on their conveyancing panel? Bank of Ireland have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
A relative recommended that where I am buying in Highnam I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Highnam conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Highnam around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Highnam Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Highnam.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Highnam is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Highnam are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Highnam you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Highnam may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.
How straightforward is it to use your search app to locate a conveyancing solicitor in Highnam on the panel for my lender?
Step one is to select a bank such as Santander, Bank of Scotland or Britannia then choose your preferred area such as Highnam. Conveyancing practices in Highnam and further afield should be shown.
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Highnam. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Highnam - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 basement flat in Highnam, conveyancing was carried out in 1996. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Highnam with an extended lease are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2098
You have 73 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 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 a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.