Some advice if I may. My Waolstenholme conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound toapply for Waolstenholme conveyancing searches resulting from the fact thatthe firm are on the Santandersolicitor panel. These Waolstenholme searches cost a lot of money can this be avoided?

You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Waolstenholme conveyancing searches.

The Waolstenholme conveyancing lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Waolstenholme have without warning closed. I only went with them because I had to have a lawyer on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my family Waolstenholme lawyer was not. I paid them 275 plus VAT on account. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.

I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Waolstenholme. Now, I need my documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Waolstenholme of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Waolstenholme. I've chance upon a site which seems to have the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all formalities done via email that would be ideal. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Waolstenholme where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Waolstenholme conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Waolstenholme - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from control and although a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.