My wife and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Winterbourne with a mortgage. We have a Winterbourne solicitor, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Winterbourne conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is unjust; can we not require that the lender use our Winterbourne lawyer ?

No, not really. 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 Winterbourne conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in Winterbourne prior to retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Winterbourne. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Winterbourne to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I am downsizing from my property. My former lawyers has retired. I would be grateful for any recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in Winterbourne if that makes a difference.

Please use our search tool to help you choose a solicitor for your conveyancing in Winterbourne. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with lender approved solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move goes smoothly.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Winterbourne from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Winterbourne can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. Some Winterbourne leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Winterbourne home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Winterbourne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? How is the lease structured?

I have been informed by various family members to expect 6-8 weeks for Winterbourne conveyancing to complete.This was four weeks ago. The property information was only received from the vendors property lawyer last week so now does it countdown?

Don't count on completing on a specific date until exchange of contracts occurs. Regardless of the promises the people you are acquiring from or selling to make, or your mortgage broker makes don't count on them. More frustration is caused to clients trying to move home by unfulfilled promises than any other issue when it comes to conveyancing in Winterbourne.