It has come to my attention via my mortgage adviser that my Westbury solicitor is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your Westbury lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Westbury conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your lender.

I am thinking of remortgaging my house in Westbury, does my lawyer have to be on the Nationwide Solicitor panel?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, but Nationwide would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Westbury. Do I pick up the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Westbury?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Westbury. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.

Is it correct that all Westbury CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the TSB conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

It is true that some banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Virgin Money as we wish to conduct a loft conversion to our property in Westbury. Do we need to appoint a local Westbury solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Virgin Money do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.

I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and found one near me in Westbury I like with open areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Westbury for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Westbury. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Westbury - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Westbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared amongst the tenants and may well materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific invoice. It would be prudent to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Westbury. If you love the flatin Westbury but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard decision. Is there a share of the freehold?