Is the fact that my conveyancer in Belper is not on my lender's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?

It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the Belper conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

We see that you have a post code search directory listing firms on the Santander conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Belper?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Santander conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Belper.

I am assisting my sister sell her property in Belper. Does the conveyancing solicitor order an energy performance certificate or do I organise this?

After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates became a compulsory component of selling a house. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not something that conveyancers ordinarily organise. If you are using a Belper conveyancing practitioner they may be able to arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with reputable Belper accredited person

When it comes to lenders such as Leeds Building Society, do Belper conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Belper. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Shortly after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the RBS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the RBS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Belper. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 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).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Belper - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? For most Belper leaseholds the cost for major works are not built into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Belper ask leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

Sixweeks into buying a residence in Belper. Conveyancing solicitor has told us the property is "Leasehold". Should this impact the marketability of the house?

Belper conveyancing does not ordinarily involve leasehold houses. The crucial factor here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If there are over a hundred years remaining with a nominal rent, it's virtually freehold, so it shouldn't impact the marketability significantly.

On the flip side, if it's, say, Sixty years it will have a material effect on the saleability, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease provided to your property lawyer.