Me and my partner are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Forty Hill with a mortgage. We have a Forty Hill solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or retain our Forty Hill lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We feel that this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Forty Hill conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

My wife and I are acquiring a newly built apartment in Forty Hill and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and I have no desire to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?

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

I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I require chancel insurance when purchasing a property in Forty Hill? or Apparently there is an ancient law that means some owners of property residing in a parish church boundary may be liable to contribute towards repairs towards the chancel within the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Forty Hill?

Unless a previous purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you could take it that solicitors delivering conveyancing in Forty Hill to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my grandfather I am disposing of a property in Newport but I am based in Forty Hill. My conveyancer (approximately 235 miles awayneeds me to sign a stat dec prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Forty Hill who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Forty Hill based

I am looking at a couple of flats in Forty Hill which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Forty Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Forty Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

After years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Forty Hill. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Forty Hill property is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 81.79 years.