Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Wellesbourne. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

I've digested plenty 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 Wellesbourne solicitor - who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Skipton will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Skipton 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Wellesbourne surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Coventry BS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Wellesbourne has been accepted, what happens next?

Your property agent will want to know who your solicitors are (be sure the conveyancers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Coventry BS or the broker and finish off any outstanding documentation. Coventry BS will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or vendor to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Coventry BS will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Wellesbourne.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Wellesbourne prior to appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks will refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Wellesbourne. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Wellesbourne especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Wellesbourne.

Taking into account that I will soon spend 450k on a property in Wellesbourne I wish to talk to a solicitor concerning thehouse move prior to instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we encourage - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the solicitor who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Wellesbourne.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a matter reference. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are provided with for residential conveyancing in Wellesbourne should be the figure that you end up paying.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wellesbourne from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wellesbourne can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives.
In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Wellesbourne leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Wellesbourne, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Wellesbourne with a long lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2076

With 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £30,400 and £35,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered 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 getting professional advice.

Me and my fiance have just had an offer agreed on a flat and had meeting on Wednesday with Leeds Building Society for the mortgage. They advised us that when it comes to choosing a lawyer that if they are not on their approved panel of property lawyers then we will incur an additional fee of £200. This is because they would then have to instruct a solicitor to act for them as well as the one we choose to act on our behalf and we are liable for their invoice. I have requested Leeds Building Society to send me with a list so I can request quotes only from their approved conveyancers but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is there a list online?

Ask Leeds Building Society what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Then ask the conveyancing practitioner of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on mortgages for Leeds Building Society historically. If the answer to those is yes, then just double check with Leeds Building Society. Alternatively please use our search facility and we should be able to find you a property lawyer in Wellesbourne on the panel for Leeds Building Society.