My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Shifnal. I I am struggling to find out whether they are on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel. Can you help?

You should contact the conveyancer and enquire if they can act for the lender. Otherwise please get in touch with Skipton Building Society who may be able to help.

My wife and I have organised the release of further funds on our home loan from Nationwide as we wish to carry out alterations to our house in Shifnal. Do we need to select a nearby Shifnal solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Nationwide do not ordinarily require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.

I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, TSB are being pedantic. The Shifnal solicitor who is on the TSB conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but TSB are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do TSB have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that TSB have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why TSB may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Nationwide have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Shifnal has been agreed to, now what?

The estate agent will want to be advised as to your conveyancing practitioner's details (make sure the conveyancers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Nationwide or the financial adviser and finish off any outstanding forms. Nationwide will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or owners to arrange a slot for the valuation to happen. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. Nationwide will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Shifnal.

Me and my brother own a terraced Edwardian property in Shifnal. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Yorkshire Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Shifnal and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

How does conveyancing in Shifnal differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Shifnal contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is ready to move into. This is because builders in Shifnal usually buy the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Shifnal or who has acted in the same development.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Shifnal. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as you normally would as all rents and maintenance invoices will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Shifnal, conveyancing having been completed 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Shifnal with a long lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077

With only 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £27,600 and £31,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.