My wife and I are planning to purchase a home in Wigton and are in fact using a Wigton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Yorkshire Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Wigton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wigton lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

How up to date is your database of Wigton solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel? Do RBS send you an updated list?

Wigton conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from RBS directly.

My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Wigton. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £4500. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to UBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Given you plan to re-mortgage then UBS will require that you use a conveyancer on the UBS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your UBS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the UBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I am due to move house in April. Does my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the completion day. As an aside, can you recommend a removal company in Wigton. Conveyancing firm was found before I stumbled across this website.

On the day of completion you will need to collect the house keys from the estate agent but this should only take place once the previous owners conveyancers advise the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be handed over. After that you will need to tell the removal men that they can start moving you in. As a matter of policy we do not suggest a specific removal company but can assist you in choosing a conveyancing in Wigton or a legal practice that specialises in conveyancing in Wigton.

I'm the single recipient of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Wigton. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be considered the same way as if I'd bought the property in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be affected by that. many banks would take a practical view as this obligation is primarily there to capture subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

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

Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Wigton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Wigton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? It would be sensible to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other people if they are happy with them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money.