As someone not used to the Coniston conveyancing process what’s your top tip you can give me for the house moving process in Coniston

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Coniston and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For example, the seller, estate agent and on occasion a lender. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Coniston an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the transaction whose interest is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.

We are witnessing a worrying emergence of a "blame" culture- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. You should always trust your conveyancer ahead of all other parties in the conveyancing process.

The Coniston conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in Coniston have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and my family Coniston lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist.

Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Coniston?

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Coniston and Solicitor practices in Coniston who can assist with your conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. Both can handle other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

I can not work out if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Coniston bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Coniston conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?

The lawyer must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two provisions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Coventry BS are being a right pain. The Coniston solicitor who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Coventry BS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Coventry BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Coventry BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Coventry BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

How does conveyancing in Coniston differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Coniston approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because builders in Coniston typically acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Coniston or who has acted in the same development.

Last January I purchased a leasehold house in Coniston. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Coniston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? The answer will be helpful as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details