I am obtaining a offer of a home loan from Nat West. My intention is to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Keighley. Does the Nat West Conveyancing panel allow for conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Nat West conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, represented by the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

I have recentlydiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Keighley for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Keighley conveyancing specialists.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Keighley benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my lawyer about the extras as it could affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Keighley. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Keighley are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Keighley in which case you should be shopping around for a Keighley conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Keighley, conveyancing having been completed August 2006. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Keighley with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2089

With only 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Do I cancel my mortgage payments with Virgin Money as soon as a completion date for my sale in Keighley has been set?

No, you must maintain paying any mortgage payments to Virgin Money pending the mortgage being repaid from the proceeds of sale as part of your Keighley conveyancing.