Can you suggest a Skipton Building Society approved Headley conveyancing firm finish our house move within less than a month? Would it be better to use a local Headley practice or an online firm?

We can recommend some very good Headley conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the high street in Headley. Approach two or three law practices and request to speak with a conveyancing solicitor for a quote. Discuss your expectations together with the reasons and get a commitment on speed. Appoint the lawyer that genuine.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Headley off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Santander. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. 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 Santander, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel.

I have instructed a Headley conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Headley postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Headley.

I have finally had an offer on a maisonette in Headley accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have put an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Headley. What should be my next step? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Nationwide?

It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Headley conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your solicitor is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market some purchasers would apply for a home loan with Nationwide and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancer to proceed with the conveyancing in Headley.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Headley?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Headley. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Headley I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Headley suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you need a home loan that many years may be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I only have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Headley. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Headley.

I own a 2 bed flat in Headley, conveyancing was carried out April 1999. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Headley with an extended lease are worth £227,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2097

You have 72 years unexpired 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 above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.