I am helping my sister sell her flat in Wellington. Does the conveyancing solicitor commission the energy assessment or do I organise this?

After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was retained a mandatory element of selling a house. An EPC should be to hand prior to the property being marketed. This is not as aspect of the sale process that lawyers normally arrange. If you are using a Wellington conveyancing solicitor they may be willing to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with long established local accredited person

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Virgin Money, do Wellington conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?

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

My partner and I are in the process of viewing houses in Wellington and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it advisable to have my property lawyer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Bank of Ireland.

You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. As you are seeking a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Wellington. Now, I need my files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Wellington of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm remortgaging my existing home to a buy to let mortgage with Nationwide Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on a second property. The area we are interested in is Wellington. Will your conveyancers be able to act for both sets of banks and tie in the two deals?

Do use our search tool on this site to check that the lawyers are on the relevant lender panels. Having checked that they are your solicitor will be able to simultaneously deal with the two deals but you should have a chat with you lawyer and communicate your expectations and needs.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Wellington. I happened to chance upon a web site which appears to be the perfect solution If it is possible to get all formalities done via phone that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

I work for a busy estate agent office in Wellington where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wellington conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

I inherited a basement flat in Wellington, conveyancing was carried out May 2002. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Wellington with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

With just 67 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The figure 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 comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.