My husband and I are looking to purchase a home in Wallingford and have appointed a Wallingford conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Alliance & Leicester have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Wallingford conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wallingford lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Wallingford? Is this really necessary?

In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Wallingford conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing matters. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account showing your correct address.

In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are obliged by law to validate not just the identity of conveyancing clients but also the source of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this may lead to your lawyer cancelling their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your conveyancers will have an obligation to notify the appropriate authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Wallingford and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Wallingford. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Wallingford area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Wallingford. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

Should I go with a Wallingford conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can carry out the legal work however they are based a couple of hundredmiles drive away.

The primary upside of using a high street Wallingford conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, present your ID and pester them if necessary. Having local Wallingford know how is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and in the main were content that must surpass using an unknown Wallingford conveyancing solicitor just because they are based in the area.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £325,000 apartment in Wallingford on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Wallingford?

Wallingford conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled to invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Wallingford Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Wallingfordlease extensions you will need to own the property for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. How is the lease structured?