I have been referred to a conveyancing solicitor in Crosby. I I am struggling to find out if they are accepted on the Skipton Building Society approved list of lawyers. Could you advise?

You should phone your lawyer and enquire if they can act for the bank. Alternatively please call Skipton Building Society who may be able to assist.

We had instructed conveyancing lawyers based in Crosby on the Skipton solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional amount for the legal aspects of the Skipton mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Skipton?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Skipton but by your Crosby conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Skipton panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Principality. Crosby conveyancing practitioners are instructed. How long does it take for Principality to issue the offer to the conveyancer?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Principality conducted the survey? Have you informed Principality as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Principality conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

My sealed bid on a semi in Crosby has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on a flat, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Crosby. What do I do now? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Skipton?

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, Crosby conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should ensure that your conveyancer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Regarding the next stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of buyers would apply for the mortgage with Skipton and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their conveyancer to move forward with searches.

The deeds to my house are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Crosby 10 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?

As long as you have a registered title the information relating to your ownership will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, find your house and obtain up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a certified copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.

My husband and I are first time buyers - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent advised that the owners will only go ahead if we use their recommended lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Crosby

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this requirement. If they require ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Try to communicate with the owners directly and make the point that (a)you are motivated buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to use your own,trusted Crosby conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a kickback or meet his conveyancing figures demanded by HQ.

My husband and I may need to sub-let our Crosby garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Crosby conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Crosby do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Crosby, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in Crosby with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2086

You have 67 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.