My husband and I are refinancing our apartment in Wigton with Virgin Money. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Virgin Money conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Virgin Money. This is solely used to protect Virgin Money if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Virgin Money had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

What happens if my solicitor is removed from the HSBC Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Wigton?

The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Principality as we intend to carry out improvements to our property in Wigton. Do we need to choose a local Wigton solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Principality don't usually instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Principality list.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Wigton bank branch on a couple of occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Wigton conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

The conveyancer must follow the CML Handbook Part 2 conditions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

Co-operative have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a property in Wigton has been accepted, now what?

Your estate agent will need to be informed of your solicitor's details (make sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone Co-operative or your financial adviser and finalise any appropriate documentation. Co-operative will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to book a time for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a week to receive the mortgage offer. Co-operative will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Wigton.

I am one month into a leasehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the local agent to handle our conveyancing in Wigton. I am am extremely frustrated with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

A solicitor would have to be very poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has your loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the new solicitor and have the offer are re-sent. Your conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid added costs and delays. So that should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our find a solicitor tool should help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Wigton

Your search tool is useful but there are many lawyers listed near Wigton being on the bank conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a specific firm on the mortgage company approved panel?

We do not recommend specific Wigton firms as the right Wigton conveyancing firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with Wigton knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. We recommend that you speak to 3 or 4 lawyers listed before you make your choice..