My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a house in Shirehampton and are in fact using a Shirehampton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Shirehampton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Shirehampton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Shirehampton. I I would like to check whether they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Could you advise?

The first thing you should do is phone the lawyer and ask them whether they can act for the lender. Alternatively please call Virgin Money who may be able to help.

A relative advised me that where I am purchasing in Shirehampton I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Shirehampton conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Shirehampton around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Shirehampton Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Shirehampton.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Shirehampton I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Shirehampton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Shirehampton where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Shirehampton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 prior to, 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.

Shirehampton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Shirehampton require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and although a managing agent is frequently employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It would be sensible to enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Shirehampton. If you like the flatin Shirehampton but your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination.