The Ilfracombe conveyancing solicitors that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Ilfracombe have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel and my family Ilfracombe lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What do I do now?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 Virgin Money 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 solicitors may be able to assist.

When it comes to lenders such as Aldermore, do Ilfracombe conveyancers have to pay an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Ilfracombe. I have a mortgage offer with Lloyds. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.

I have finally had an offer on a maisonette in Ilfracombe accepted, the vendors do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The owners have put an offer on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Ilfracombe. What should be my next step? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with Kent Reliance?

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Ilfracombe conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you should ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Kent Reliance approved list. Regarding the subsequent steps this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many buyers will apply for a home loan with Kent Reliance and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to proceed with searches.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Ilfracombe before appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not give a mortgage on this type of home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Ilfracombe to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I'm refinancing my current house to a buy to let loan with The Royal Bank of Scotland and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on a second house. The location we are interested in is Ilfracombe. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two banks and link together the two deals?

Make use of our search tool on this site to be sure that the lawyers are approved by both lenders. Having checked that they are your solicitor should be able to connect the two deals but you should talk with you lawyer and communicate your expectations and requirements.

I own a leasehold flat in Ilfracombe. Conveyancing was finished in last year. I have been told that I mustn’t allow the the remaining lease term to fall too low. Is this correct?

Ilfracombe leasehold properties are for a fixed term - usually ninety nine years when they started. However many flats in Ilfracombe were built or converted 20 or more years ago and so such leases now have less than 80 years left to run. That may sound like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies generally need leases to have at least 75 years left to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are nearing eighty years. To enhance the saleability of your property you should be considering whether to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. You should note that there are strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease hits eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to escalate.