How can we tell if a Wheatley conveyancing solicitor on the Skipton panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Wheatley getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always advise that you speak with the solicitor handling your transaction.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Wheatley off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Nationwide. 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 Nationwide, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.

I had an offer accepted on a house in Wheatley on 1/11/2024, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Are UBS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I have recentlybecome aware that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Wheatley for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Wheatley conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Wheatley differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Wheatley contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Wheatley usually buy the site, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Wheatley or who has acted in the same development.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Wheatley. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as usual because all ground rent and service payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I purchased a basement flat in Wheatley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Wheatley with an extended lease are worth £171,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2103

With just 79 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Me and my husband have recently had an offer accepted on a apartment and had an appointment on Wednesday with Nationwide for the mortgage. They have informed me that when it comes to choosing a lawyer that unless they are on their approved list of conveyancers then we will incur an additional fee of about two hundred pounds. This is is due to the fact that they will then have to select a property lawyer to act for them as well as the one we appoint for ourselves and we assume responsibility for their fees. I have requested Nationwide to send me with a list so I can seek estimates only from their approved conveyancers but was told that I need to check with each individual lawyer to see if they are on the panel. Is there a simple way of finding out who is on a lender panel?

You can enquire of Nationwide what their criteria for joining their panel is for a solicitor.Then ask the solicitor of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on mortgages for Nationwide previously. Where the answer to those is yes, then just double check with Nationwide. Alternatively please utilise our search facility and we should be able to locate a solicitor in Wheatley on the approved list for Nationwide.