My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Bamber Bridge. I need to find out whether they are accepted on the Nationwide Building Society approved list of lawyers. Can you advise?

You should contact your lawyer and ask them whether they can act for the bank. Otherwise please get in touch with Nationwide Building Society who may be able to confirm.

My wife and I are purchasing a house in Bamber Bridge. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We had instructed solicitors locally in Bamber Bridge on the RBS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me an additional sum for dealing with the RBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by RBS?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor can levy a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by RBS but by your Bamber Bridge lawyer. Numerous firms on the RBS panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.

I'm spending time viewing flats in Bamber Bridge and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it sensible to have my conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Skipton.

It would be sensible to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

How does conveyancing in Bamber Bridge differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Bamber Bridge approach us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Bamber Bridge typically acquire the real estate, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Bamber Bridge or who has acted in the same development.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am disposing of a house in Newport but reside in Bamber Bridge. My solicitor (based 200 miles awayneeds me to execute a stat dec before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Bamber Bridge who can witness this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Bamber Bridge based

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Bamber Bridge where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Bamber Bridge conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bamber Bridge - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will either make your life much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Don't be shy to ask other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money. It would be wise to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Bamber Bridge leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Bamber Bridge. If you love the apartmentin Bamber Bridge yet your dog can’t live with you then you will be faced hard decision. For many Bamber Bridge leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Bamber Bridge require leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.