I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Kingsnorth and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are swapping conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Kingsnorth ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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. The buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

The Kingsnorth conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Kingsnorth have suddenly closed. I only went with them because I had to have a firm on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my previous Kingsnorth lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What do I do now?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.

Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that may affect a commercial site in Kingsnorth?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Kingsnorth will execute a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Kingsnorth. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Kingsnorth.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Kingsnorth it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to Kingsnorth commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Kingsnorth.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Kingsnorth. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Kingsnorth

The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please supply a car parking plan. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.

Are there common deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Kingsnorth properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Kingsnorth is not unique. Most leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Insurance obligations A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Kingsnorth, conveyancing having been completed October 2003. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Kingsnorth with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

You have 75 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.