I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Barnsbury and the estate agent has just called to warn that the purchasers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Barnsbury ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Mortgage companies attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Barnsbury? Why is this being asked of me?

It is indeed that case that these requests have nothing to do with conveyancing in Barnsbury. Nowadays you can not complete any conveyancing transaction in the absence submitting evidence of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Remember if you are supplying your driving licence as evidence of identification it needs to be both the paper section and photo card part, one is not acceptable in the absence of the other.

Proof of your source of money is necessary in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when when this is requested of you as your conveyancing solicitor will need to retain this information on file. Your Barnsbury conveyancing lawyer will require evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any money from you into their client account and they will also ask additional queries regarding the origin of monies.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Barnsbury I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Barnsbury in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

Is it possible to transfer to a new firm as I need to choose a firm on the conveyancing list. I instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Barnsbury five minutes from me but he is not accepted by

It would be our pleasure to help you select a conveyancing solicitor in Barnsbury on the panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we list do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are under regulation of the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Barnsbury. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Barnsbury.

I have just started marketing my basement flat in Barnsbury. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have recently had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge as you normally would as all rents and maintenance invoices should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I bought a 1st floor flat in Barnsbury, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Barnsbury with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 50

With just 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.