We are looking to buy a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Bankside who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a local solicitor?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Bankside.

My father advised me that in buying a property in Bankside there could be a number of restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Bankside which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Bankside should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

My conveyancer has informed me that defective lease insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Bankside?

The right level of defective lease indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and Virgin Money. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.

Is it the case that all Bankside solicitor firms on the Principality conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. The majority of lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be regulated by the CLC.

How does conveyancing in Bankside differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Bankside contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because house builders in Bankside usually acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Bankside or who has acted in the same development.

I own a leasehold house in Bankside. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Bankside who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Bankside conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Bankside. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bankside flat is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case was in relation to 41 flats. The unexpired lease term was 107 years.

I have finally had an offer on an flat in Bankside accepted, the vendor does nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The sellers have submitted an offer on somewhere, although it’s not yet tied up, and has viewings of other apartments booked. I have selected a local conveyancing lawyer in Bankside. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with HSBC going with HSBC?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Bankside conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Regarding the next stages this very much depends on the specifics of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market many buyers would apply for the mortgage with HSBC and pay for the survey and only if it comes back ok would they ask their solicitor to press on with the conveyancing in Bankside.