My wife and I purchasing a terrace house in Whiston. Our aim is to an extension at the rear at the house.Will the conveyancing process include investigations to ascertain if these works are allowed?

Your solicitor should review the deeds as conveyancing in Whiston will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent categories of changes or necessitated the permission of another owner. Some additions require local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Whiston off the council. I have a mortgage offer with RBS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have 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 RBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the RBS conveyancing panel.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Whiston. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Whiston. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Halifax. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Whiston and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.

Taking into account that I will soon spend over three hundred thousand on 3 bedroom house in Whiston I wish to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning theconveyancing prior to instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Whiston.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a matter number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Whiston should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Whiston from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whiston can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers.
You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. The majority of landlords or managing agents in Whiston charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whiston. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Whiston conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Whiston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? Plenty Whiston leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly during the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building?

We are in the process of acquiring a property in Whiston. Conveyancing is not over but we wish to have our transaction price confidential from sites such as Nestoria. Is this achievable and how?

HM Land Registry are legally obliged to note price paid information on the official title for residential properties nationwide which includes homes in Whiston. The Title Register is an open document, so the Land Registry would be breaking the law if they failed to permit access to the register.

In essence you can make a request of the Land Registry to hide the price paid entry yet the answer will be in the negative.