My god-son is purchasing a house that has just been built in Wakefield with a home loan from Bank of Ireland. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

We are buying a end of terrace house in Wakefield. We would like to convert the garage to a playroom at the house.Will legal investigations on the property include enquiries to see if these alterations are prohibited?

Your conveyancer will review the registered title as conveyancing in Wakefield can occasionally identify restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain changes or need the consent of a 3rd party. Some extensions call for local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

Is it the case that all Wakefield conveyancing solicitors on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Kent Reliance approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Wakefield. I have a mortgage agreed with TSB. 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 use 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 TSB, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel.

I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of hinderance in Wakefield conveyancing transactions. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Wakefield.

How do I locate a Wakefield solicitor on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am happy to travel upto 25miles to meet the solicitor.

You can use the search on this page. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Wakefield conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have detailed some Wakefield conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to verify if they are on the Coventry Building Society panel

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Wakefield. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Wakefield who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Wakefield conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Wakefield, conveyancing was carried out March 2006. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Wakefield with a long lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2090

With only 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.