My property lawyer in Westbury has never been on on the Yorkshire Building Society Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Yorkshire Building Society panel?

Your options are as follows:

1. Carry on with your existing Westbury solicitors but Yorkshire Building Society will need to instruct a solicitor on their panel. This will result in additional overall legal fees as well as result in frustration.
2. Get an alternative solicitor to to deal with the purchase, obviously checking they are Convince your solicitor to do everything within their powers to join the Yorkshire Building Society conveyancing panel

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Yorkshire BS, do Westbury conveyancers face an annual charge to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are unaware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

It is not clear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have called my Westbury bank branch on various occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Westbury conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they would not lend in accordance with their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

Your property lawyer must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 requirements for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender 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 lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

Our sealed bid on a house in Westbury has been accepted, the owners do however have a dependent purchase. The owners have put an offer on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Westbury. What do I do now? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Clydesdale?

It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Westbury conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent phase this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Clydesdale and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancer to proceed with searches.

Should my conveyancer be making enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in Westbury.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Westbury. There are those who buy a house in Westbury, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Westbury. The standard property information forms given to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the seller to discover whether the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate reply. A purchaser’s solicitors will also order an enviro report. This will higlight whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations should be initiated.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Westbury 5 years ago no longer exist. Will I be able to sell the house?

Assuming you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be recorded by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your house and order current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be retrieved for a small fee.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Westbury. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Westbury

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply a car parking plan.