Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Chippenham even if I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example where I want to acquire a shop in Chippenham with a mortgage from Barnsley Building Society?

Our search tool is primarily utilised to help choose residential conveyancing solicitors in Chippenham but we have listed towards the end of this page some Chippenham commercial conveyancing firms. You should speak with the company directly to establish if they are also authorised to represent Barnsley Building Society

I'm in the process of looking at apartments in Chippenham and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a mortgage with Leeds Building Society.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the EA. As you are taking out a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

It is not clear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Chippenham bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Chippenham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.

Provided that the solicitor is on the lender approved list, she or he must follow the CML Handbook conditions for the bank. 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 bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

I have finally had an offer on a flat in Chippenham accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on a property, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Chippenham. What do I do now? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Lloyds?

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Chippenham conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your solicitor is on the Lloyds approved list. Regarding the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of home buyers will apply for the mortgage with Lloyds and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their solicitor to move forward with the conveyancing in Chippenham.

We are selling our house in Chippenham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. A high street Chippenham lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Chippenham. We have lived in Chippenham for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Chippenham I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Chippenham suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

We own a leasehold flat in Chippenham. Conveyancing was finished in 21012. I have heard that I mustn’t let the lease length fall too low. Why is that a problem?

Chippenham residential long term leases are for a set term - often 99 years when they commenced. However many appartments in Chippenham were constructed or converted 25 or more years ago and so such leases now have fewer than eighty years remaining. This may sound like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies generally require leases to have at least 75 years unexpired to adequate security. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing seventy five years. To enhance your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. Furthermore significant benefits to taking action before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease is less than eighty years the amount you have to pay to extend starts to increase.