My husband and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a property in Crowland and my parents have sent the exchange deposit to my property lawyer. I am now told that as the deposit has not arrived from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to make a notification to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I disclosed to the lender about my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?

Your solicitor is obliged to clarify with the bank to ensure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only notify this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

My wife and I have a semi-detached Edwardian house in Crowland. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Aldermore. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Crowland and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Crowland I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Crowland suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

We are a fortnight into a residential purchase having been referred to solicitors by the estate agent to carry out the conveyancing in Crowland. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?

They would need to be really bad in order to consider diss instructing them. Has your mortgage been sent? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the replacement lawyer and ensure the loan are re-sent. The conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid supplemental expenses and delays. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our search tool will assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Crowland

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Crowland conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Crowland conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with two or three firms including non Crowland conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Crowland Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Crowland require leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger works.