My husband and I are intending to purchase a 3 bedroom apartment in Cricklade with a mortgage. We like our Cricklade conveyancer, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or retain our Cricklade conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Cricklade conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

As someone with no idea as to the Cricklade conveyancing process what is the number one tip you can impart for the legal transfer of property in Cricklade

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Cricklade or throughout Wiltshire is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the seller, estate agent and sometimes a mortgage company. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Cricklade an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the process whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to protect you.

There is a worrying ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. You must always trust your solicitor above the other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Cricklade. My lender is Chelsea Building Society

Chelsea Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 8/2/2019, the requirements read as follows :

I have recentlybecome aware that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Cricklade for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to check if the property is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Cricklade conveyancing specialists.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cricklade from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cricklade can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers.
Many freeholders or Management Companies in Cricklade levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cricklade. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Cricklade leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Cricklade, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. 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 properties in Cricklade with a long lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2099

With just 80 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

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 detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.