I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Chirk and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Chirk ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.

Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Chirk even where I’m not buying or selling a house, for instance if I intend to buy an office in Chirk with a mortgage from Aldermore?

Our comparison service is predominantly used to select domestic conveyancing solicitors in Chirk but we have listed towards the bottom of this page a few Chirk commercial conveyancing firms. You should make contact with the firm directly to see if they can also act for Aldermore

My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Chirk. I need to find out whether they are accepted on the Britannia conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?

The first thing to do is e-mail your solicitor and ask them whether they can act for the lender. Alternatively please call Britannia who may be able to confirm.

My cousin has suggested that I instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Chirk. Do I take his guidance?

There are no two ways about it the best way to select a conveyancing practitioner is to seek recommendations from friends or family who have used the conveyancer that you are contemplating using.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Chirk where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Chirk conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Chirk, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Chirk with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2085

With only 62 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £17,100 and £19,800 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.