We are acquiring our first home. The conveyancer has texted usto ask if we want to take out additional conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's relevant for conveyancing in Whalley

The type of Whalley conveyancing searches should be dictated entirely on the property, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your knowledge of the region and risks, your overall attitude to risk. What is important is that you properly comprehend what information the searches could give you. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that information. Where you are in doubt, ask the property lawyer to recommend.

Do I have to pop into the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Whalley so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.

Whereas this was necessary 15 years ago, most banks no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. It will still be necessary for you to hand over ID documents and there are still manifest benefits to using a local practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Whalley.

We are buying a property in Whalley. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to deposit funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I happen to be the sole recipient of my late mum's will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Whalley. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in October. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the house in October. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be caught by that. Some mortgage companies would take a sensible view as this obligation chiefly exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Whalley. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Whalley. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Whalley

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Whalley. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge as you normally would as all ground rent and maintenance payments should be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Whalley - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Make sure you find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Whalley leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Whalley. If you love the flatin Whalley but your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very difficult determination. For most Whalley leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Whalley obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. If a Whalley lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Whalleylease extensions you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.