It has come to my attention via my financial adviser that my Cannington solicitor is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain if this is indeed the case?

The best course of action for you to take is to call your Cannington conveyancer. You lawyer should notify you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Cannington conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.

I am the only beneficiary of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Cannington. The Cannington property was put into my name in July. I want to move. I understand that there is a CML 6 month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in July. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be caught by that. Some lenders would take a sensible view as this clause is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.

We were going to get a OIP from HSBC this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do HSBC recommend any Cannington solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Cannington solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the HSBC conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and HSBC through the process.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Cannington. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £225. Soon after, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.

Should I be suspicious about 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending a nationwide conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Cannington conveyancing practice?

As is the case with lots of professional services, often recommendations from connections can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies might all suggest lawyers to instruct. Sometimes the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there might be a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to appoint your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that some lenders operate an approved list of solicitors you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your transaction.

Last April I purchased a leasehold flat in Cannington. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Cannington Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

If a Cannington lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. The answer will be helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders?

Would local authority permission be necessary to convert a house into a couple of appartments in Cannington? This has occurred to a property adjacent to a friend in Cannington and was not aware of it happening until the works were finished.

Planning Permission yes. Building Regulations yes.