Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Colwall. Is there a reason why all Colwall property lawyers aren't included on all mortgage company panels?

Banks ordinarily restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that the firm needs to have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the structure of firm, some building societies decided to restrict the size of their panel they allow to act for them. It is worth noting that building societies have no responsibility for the quality of conveyancing given by any Colwall property lawyer on their approved list. Property fraud was the main trigger for the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago notwithstanding that there are contrary opinions about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data via HMLR exposes that thousands of law organisations only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel culls question why conveyancing firms should have claim to remain on a bank panel when clearly property law is not their speciality?

I am selling my flat in Colwall. Does my property lawyer have to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the HSBC conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently currently.

How does conveyancing in Colwall differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Colwall contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Colwall typically acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Colwall or who has acted in the same development.

I'm remortgaging my existing property to a buy to let loan with Skipton Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on another house. The neighborhood we are talking about is Colwall. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of lenders and tie in the two deals?

Make use of our comparison tool on this site to check that the solicitors are on the relevant lender panels. Assuming that they are your conveyancer will be able to tie up the two transactions but you should have a chat with you solicitor and make clear your expectations and needs.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Colwall with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Colwall can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ lawyers.
Many landlords or managing agents in Colwall levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Colwall. A minority of Colwall leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Colwall state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

I own a 1st floor flat in Colwall, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Colwall with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2078

With just 59 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other 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.