I am nearing an exchange on a house in Helsby and my parents have transferred the 10% deposit to my conveyancing practitioner. I am now informed that as the deposit has not arrived from me my solicitor needs to disclose this to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?

The lawyer is obliged to clarify with lender to ensure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only reveal this to your bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Helsby. Do I collect the keys to the premises on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Helsby?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Helsby. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to collect the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I'm the sole beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Helsby. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in November. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in November. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be affected by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this provision chiefly exists to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

We had appointed conveyancers with offices in Helsby on the Kent Reliance solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional charge for dealing with the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Kent Reliance?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Kent Reliance but by your Helsby conveyancer. Some firms on the Kent Reliance panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of practices include it on their overall fee.

My uncle has urged me to use his lawyers for conveyancing in Helsby. Do I take his advice?

No doubt the ideal way to select a conveyancing solicitor is to get referrals from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the firm that you are considering.

What makes a Helsby lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Helsby is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Insurance obligations

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Helsby, conveyancing was carried out March 2008. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Helsby with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With just 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

We are about to acquiring a property in Helsby. Conveyancing is not yet done but we would like keep our transaction price confidential from the likes of Zoopla. How can this be done?

HMLR by statute are bound to note price sold data on the official title for residential properties nationwide including properties in Helsby. The register of title is a public document, so HM Land Registry would be breaching their statutory obligations excluded certain properties such as the property in Helsby.

You can make a request of the Land Registry to hide the price paid data but the answer will be a No.