In scouring consumer advice sites for a conveyancing solicitor in Widnes, most post that I must look for a CQS accredited lawyer. What is CQS?

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * compliance with best practice conveyancing processes through the scheme protocol Membership includes many partnerships who conduct conveyancing in Widnes.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Widnes?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Widnes. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I decided to have a survey done on a house in Widnes prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Widnes. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Widnes to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I am a couple of weeks into a leasehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the selling agent to do our conveyancing in Widnes. I am am very frustrated with the quality of service. Could you help me find new lawyers?

A conveyancer would have to be really bad in order to consider replacing them. Has your mortgage been issued? If so you will need to inform them of the replacement solicitor and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid supplemental costs and delays. That should be your starting point. Our search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved solicitor for your home move in Widnes

What makes a Widnes lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Widnes. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Widnes Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well materially increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a one off payment. This information is useful as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will need to have full disclosure Please note that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension.