My husband and I are planning to purchase a home in Aldershot and are in fact using a Aldershot conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Mortgage Works have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Aldershot conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard 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 property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Aldershot solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I am purchasing a newly built apartment in Aldershot and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

In surfing the world wide web for the term conveyancing in Aldershot it shows results of many conveyancersin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right solicitor for my move?

The best way of seeking a suitable conveyancer is via trusted testimonial, so ask colleagues and those you trust who have acquired a property in Aldershot or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in Aldershot differ, so it's a good idea to obtain a minimum of three costs illustrations from different companies. Be sure to secure confirmation that the fees are fixed.

Last November I purchased a leasehold house in Aldershot. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 ensure 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).

I invested in buying a studio flat in Aldershot, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Aldershot with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2089

With only 65 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

We are expecting to complete on the purchase a house in Aldershot but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have negotiated reparation from the seller of four thousand pounds by way of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but the lender will not agree to this. Why were they involved?

Your lawyer that is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel is required to disclose to the bank of any changes to the purchase amount. If you were to refuse your conveyancer to notify the price change to your bank then they would have no choice but to refrain from acting for you and the bank.