We were just about to exchange contracts for a leasehold flat in Prescot and Knowlsey. We encountered a snag. Our mortgage offer with Bank of Scotland expires on 10/7/2024 but the sellers are insisting on a completion date of 12/7/2024. Is it possible to extend the loan expiry date?

The person best placed to address this question is your conveyancer who should determine whether they better off negotiating with the mortgage broker, owner’s lawyers, property agents or possibly all parties given the history of your house move to date.

What is the first thing I need to know concerning purchase conveyancing in Prescot and Knowlsey?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Prescot and Knowlsey or throughout Merseyside is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of opportunity for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the house moving process. For instance, the vendor, property agent and on occasion the mortgage company. Appointing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Prescot and Knowlsey should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the process whose role it is to protect your legal interests and to protect you.

Sometimes a third party with a vested interest will attempt to convince you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For example, the property agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your solicitor is dragging his heels. Or your financial adviser may tell you to do take action that is against your conveyancers recommendation. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.

We're in Prescot and Knowlsey, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is UBS , and our lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Prescot and Knowlsey. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?

Now that you have exchanged you should retain a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of urgency as you will have a tight a fixed date to complete the deal. An auction property should have a bespoke legal set of papers. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the legal pack may provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You must hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that you have funds in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

We are aiming to move property in August. Does my conveyancing solicitor call the removal company on the completion day. On a separate note, can you put forward a removal company in Prescot and Knowlsey. Conveyancing lawyer was chosen before I stumbled across your site.

On the day of completion you can collect the keys from the selling agent however this should only happen once the sellers lawyers advise the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be passed over. Subsequently you should tell the removal men that they can start moving you in. We are not in a position to recommend a particular removal company but can help you find a residential property solicitor in Prescot and Knowlsey or a firm with expertise in conveyancing in Prescot and Knowlsey.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Prescot and Knowlsey. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Yorkshire BS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

Given that your lender is Yorkshire BS your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Yorkshire BS. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Yorkshire BS where a lease fails to meet these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to Prescot and Knowlsey.

I am in the process of purchasing my 1st house in Prescot and Knowlsey. Conveyancing practitioner already instructed. The mortgage adviser pointed out that a survey is not appropriate as the property is just 20 yrs old.

At the very least you should order a Home Buyer's Report. As the residence is more than 10 years old the property will not come with a warranty, so you would be well advised not to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report could suffice. They will highlight any obvious issues and suggest additional investigation if appropriate. If there are any signs of material issues get a comprehensive structural survey.