I am purchasing a newly constructed flat in Kirkheaton and my conveyancer is telling me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and I don't want to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

We previously appointed solicitors locally in Kirkheaton on the Clydesdale solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a separate amount for the legal aspects of the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Clydesdale?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to levy a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Clydesdale but by your Kirkheaton lawyer. Numerous firms on the Clydesdale panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices include it on their overall fee.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Kirkheaton. I have a mortgage offer with Kent Reliance. 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 Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Kirkheaton. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A few days later, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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.

The deeds to my home can not be found. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Kirkheaton 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?

These day there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will know precisely where to look for all the relevant documentation so you may buy or dispose of your property without any difficulty. Where copies can’t be found, your conveyancer may be able to arrange cover in the form of insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on the property.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kirkheaton from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kirkheaton can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Kirkheaton home move. If a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Kirkheaton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

Kirkheaton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Many Kirkheaton leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. What is the name of the managing agents?

My conveyancing solicitor in Kirkheaton has informed me that he requires personal identification documents saying that this forms part of his retainer as a conveyancer on the bank Solicitor panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Kirkheaton conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the lender also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the bank's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements