My husband and I are intent on purchasing residence in Ormskirk. My Solicitor is not listed on the bank approved panel. Can I still retain my Ormskirk conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

You have numerous choices open to you here

• Carry on with your preferred Ormskirk lawyer but your bank will undoubtedly instruct a conveyancer from their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional charges together with likely frustration.
• Appoint a new solicitor to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Convince your property lawyer to pull out all the stops to get accepted on the bank’s panel of solicitors

I am under pressure from the owner of a property in Ormskirk to sign contracts within four weeks. What can I do to expedite matters?

In a situation where the seller is applying pressure for your conveyancing it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the location as they will benefit local connections and know-how. It is even conceivable that they may have transacted otherproperties in the same road. You would be best advised to use a Ormskirk conveyancing lawyer. In addition, be sure that the lawyer is on the member panel. It is claimed that 18% of Ormskirk conveyancing transactions are held up or derailed after finding out that a buyer’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors. This can often result in the home move being frustrated by an average of three weeks. It is believed that this issue impacts approximately 100,000 home moves every year. Almost all Ormskirk conveyancing firms can not act for certain banks so do check as early as possible.

What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Ormskirk?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Ormskirk and elsewhere in Lancashire is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. For instance, the vendor, estate agent and on occasion your lender. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Ormskirk is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the legal process whose role it is to look after your legal interests and to protect you.

On occasion a potential adversary may attempt to persuade you that you should follow their advice. For example, the estate agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do take action that is contrary to your conveyancers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property can not be found. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Ormskirk 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?

Assuming the title is registered the details of your ownership will be documented by HMLR under a Title Number. It is possible to conduct a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and obtain up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.

I work for a busy estate agency in Ormskirk where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Ormskirk conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I own a basement flat in Ormskirk, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Ormskirk with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2087

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

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.