The sellers of the house we are purchasing have appointed a conveyancing practitioner in Wynyard who has recommended a lock out agreement with a down payment 6,000. Are such agreements sensible?

Lock out agreements are agreements between a property owner and prospective buyer giving the buyer the sole right to purchase the premises for a limited period of time. For all intents and purposes, a lock out is a document stating that you should have a contract at a later date which is the main conveyancing contract. It is generally utilised for buyer protection though in many situations, the owner may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to having an agreement but you should to check with your lawyer but beware that it may result in costing you extra in conveyancing fees. For this these contracts are not popular in relation to conveyancing in Wynyard.

My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Wynyard. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Santander, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

If you intend to refinance then Santander will require that you use a conveyancer on the Santander conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Santander conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Santander mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

How can we tell if a Wynyard conveyancing solicitor on the Yorkshire BS panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Wynyard seeking recommendations is a good starting point. 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 which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.

My husband and I are at the point of viewing houses in Wynyard and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Santander.

It would be advisable to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Santander, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Wynyard. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Wynyard. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Wynyard should include some of the following:

What options are open to you if another tenant in the building breaches a clause of their lease? Who has the liability for repairing the window frames Are pets allowed in the flat? It needs to be made clear to you whether the lease allows you to add or improve anything in the premises- you should know whether it relates to all alterations or limited to structural alteration, and whether licences for alterations is required

I own a studio flat in Wynyard, conveyancing formalities finalised March 2007. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Wynyard with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2083

With just 59 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

My sister purchased her house in Wynyard eight years past. She has got married, widowed and is now remarried. She now intends to dispose of the Wynyard property. I think she will just be asked to supply copies of her marriage certificates to the conveyancing practitioner but she is anxious it could hold up the conveyancing. Is it worth updating the land title information for the house?

It is not absolutely necessary to bring up to date the title for the property as long as you have the proof needed to show how the name change resulted.

The purchaser’s property lawyer should examine the registered information and require evidence to establish the change of name for example marriage certificates.