When it comes to lenders such as Principality, do Barnet solicitors incur a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I'm spending time looking at flats in Barnet and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it sensible to have a conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with Skipton.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the EA. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Skipton, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Barnet. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Not long after, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

It has been three months since my purchase conveyancing in Barnet took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

About to purchase a new build apartment in Barnet. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Barnet

The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. 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.

Is it best to choose a Barnet conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can handle the legal work but his firm is located a couple of hundredmiles drive away.

The primary upside of using a high street Barnet conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were happy that should trump using an unfamiliar Barnet conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.

Our lawyer in Barnet has discovered a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are buying in Barnet. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer says that as he is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. A precondition to being on the mortgage company approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.