I can't travel far from Bishops Waltham. Can you please clarify why all Bishops Waltham property lawyers are not on all lender panels?

Lenders tend to impose restrictions on either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a practice needs to have at least two partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some building societies decided to restrict the size of their panel they allow to represent them. You should note that banks have no liability for the standard of advice provided by any Bishops Waltham conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Increases in mortgage fraud was the key driver in the culling of conveyancing panels a few years ago notwithstanding that there are differing thoughts about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data published by the Land Registry exposes that thousands of law firms only carry out a couple of conveyances a year. Those vindicating conveyancing panel cuts question why conveyancing firms deserve the right to be listed on a conveyancing panel when it is apparent that conveyancing is not their primary expertise?

Various internet forums that I have come across warn that are a common reason for stalling in Bishops Waltham house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Bishops Waltham.

I'm converting the mortgage on my existing property to a BTL mortgage with Godiva Mortgages Ltd and intend to use the remaining equity towards further house. The area we are talking about is Bishops Waltham. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two mortgage companies and link together the two deals?

Make use of our search tool on this site to check that the lawyers are on the relevant lender panels. Having checked that they are your lawyer should be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should have a chat with you solicitor and communicate your expectations and needs.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Bishops Waltham. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Bishops Waltham who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Bishops Waltham conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Bishops Waltham, conveyancing was carried out in 2007. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Bishops Waltham with a long lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2082

With only 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

I have recently placed an offer on a leasehold flat in Bishops Waltham and the broker that we are using recommended his solicitor. She quoted £900 plus VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound steep?

You should not rely on one quote. You should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Bishops Waltham. Then pick one that you trust and crucially, is on the approved list of the bank that you have applied for a mortgage from.