What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Skegness?

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Skegness and elsewhere in Lincolnshire is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, selling agent and on occasion your bank. Choosing a law firm for your conveyancing in Skegness should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the legal process whose role it is to look after your best interests and to keep you safe.

There is a worrying creep in the "blame" culture- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. You should always trust your solicitor ahead of the other parties when it comes to the legal assignment of property.

Are all Skegness Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

Some major lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Skegness. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the property lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Skegness solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality 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 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 Skegness postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Skegness.

How does conveyancing in Skegness differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Skegness approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because builders in Skegness tend to buy 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 Skegness or who has acted in the same development.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Skegness is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Skegness are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Skegness you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Skegness may ascertain 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 premises.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Skegness with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Skegness can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives.
Many freeholders or managing agents in Skegness charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Skegness. Some Skegness leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Skegness conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Skegness, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Skegness with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2096

With only 71 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.