I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Gosport and the EA has just text me to advise that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Gosport ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

I need some quick conveyancing in Gosport as I am faced with pressure to sign on the dotted line in less than 3 weeks. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?

If.Given you are are a mortgage free purchaser you have the choice not to do searches although no lawyer would advise that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Gosport the following are instances of issues that can appear and therefore impact future mortgageability: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Road Schemes,...

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Gosport I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Gosport for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Gosport where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Gosport conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Gosport Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

This information is important as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will want to have all the details Are there any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the maintenance costs? The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

We are in the process of buying a property in Gosport. Conveyancing is not over but we wish to have our purchase price a secret from sites such as Zoopla. How could this be done?

The Land Registry by statute are obliged to note price sold data on the official title for domestic properties countrywide which includes premises in Gosport. The register of title is a public document, so the Land Registry would be breaking the law excluded specific properties such as the one in Gosport.

You can ask HM Land Registry to withhold the amount paid data yet the response will be in the negative.