I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Skipton. Eastleigh conveyancing lawyers have been selected. How long does it take for Skipton to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Skipton conducted the survey? Have you advised Skipton as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Skipton conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in May 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Yorkshire BS are being problematic. The Eastleigh solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Yorkshire BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS 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.

My offer was accepted on an apartment in Eastleigh on 19/9/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Principality and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Are Principality entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

My friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Eastleigh I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Eastleigh conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Eastleigh around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Eastleigh.

We're new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, yet the agent advised that the seller will only go ahead if we use their chosen conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Eastleigh

We suspect that the owner is unaware of this ultimatum. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious purchaser is counter productive. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and make the point that (a)you are motivated buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to instruct your preferred Eastleigh conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide their estate agent a kickback or hit his conveyancing figures demanded by head office.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Eastleigh both have about forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field.

I inherited a leasehold flat in Eastleigh, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Eastleigh with over 90 years remaining are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2076

With just 51 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £30,400 and £35,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

My fiance is purchasing a ground floor flat in Eastleigh. He has received an estimate by the conveyancing practitioner connected to the estate agents and it came to £1250 . It was 7 years ago since I sold and purchased a property and it cost was £495. Have charges really gone up that much?

What does the conveyancing estimate include? Is it just for the legal fees, or what you will be paying in total (for example Eastleigh searches, land registry fees, etc)