We're in Stocksbridge, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Leeds Building Society , and our solicitor is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

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

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 have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Stocksbridge off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Clydesdale. 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 Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.

Lloyds have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a property in Stocksbridge has been accepted, now what?

Your estate agent will need to know who your solicitors are (be sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Contact Lloyds or your financial adviser and complete any relevant documentation. Lloyds will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to schedule an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Lloyds will issue the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Stocksbridge.

We are intent on selling our property in Stocksbridge and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a national conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Stocksbridge. We have lived in Stocksbridge for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Stocksbridge?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Stocksbridge. 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 am purchasing a new build house in Stocksbridge benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this extras as it could put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.