My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Blackwall and are in fact using a Blackwall conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Blackwall conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality 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 and you may continue to use your own Blackwall solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

We are planning to acquire a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in Blackwall who is on the Nottingham solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?

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

I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Blackwall for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 9 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Blackwall conveyancing specialists.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Blackwall is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Blackwall are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Blackwall you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Blackwall may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Blackwall. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Blackwall premises is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Blackwall properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Blackwall is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Insurance obligations Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.