My wife and I are hoping to buy a home in Chesham Bois and are in fact using a Chesham Bois conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Leeds Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Chesham Bois conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer 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 bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Chesham Bois solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Are you able to vouch for a Barclays approved Chesham Bois conveyancing practice that can complete within under 3 weeks? Would it be better to use a high street Chesham Bois practice or an online comparison site?

We can recommend some very good Chesham Bois conveyancing firms. You can also walk up the high street in Chesham Bois. Go in to a couple of firms and request to speak with a conveyancing solicitor for a quote. Explain your deadline together with your reasons and ask for an assurance on speed. Select the lawyer that genuine.

We're in Chesham Bois, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Clydesdale , and our lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancing practitioner should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and identified one close by in Chesham Bois I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Chesham Bois suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you need a home loan that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Chesham Bois. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the service charge as normal as all rents and service payments will be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 purchased a garden flat in Chesham Bois, conveyancing was carried out June 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Chesham Bois with a long lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2089

With only 63 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.