Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Culcheth. I would like to know the logic why all Culcheth lawyers aren't included on all lender panels?

A decade ago most banks had an attitude to risk which is different than today. The financial regulator in 2010 conducted a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the conveyancing practitioners on your panel. Accordingly, banks have since looked to extract more information from law firms regarding their operations and the staff employed by them and set certain criteria such as completing a minimum volume of transactions. Hundreds of firms have been removed from lender panels even though they had 100% healthy disciplinary record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms found it impossible satisfy the criteria of amount of transactions the lenders required.

We are buying a flat in Culcheth. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Culcheth what would it be?

Do not opt for the lowest Culcheth conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.

is it true that all Culcheth conveyancing solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be overseen by the CLC.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in Culcheth. I happened to land on a web site which looks to be the perfect offering If there is a chance to get all formalities completed via email that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Culcheth. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Culcheth who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Culcheth conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Culcheth, conveyancing was carried out November 2012. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Culcheth with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2094

You have 69 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

My folks are experiencing problems in finding their Culcheth property on the HM Land Registry online search facility. They have a vague memory 50 years ago when they bought the bungalow there were complications regarding the address not being recognised in some systems.

Almost all properties in Culcheth should appear. Have you limited your search to just the postcode. Usually it should identify all the houses and flats inside the postcode. Where recorded it will be there with a title number. If they bought back in the 70’s it's conceivable it may be not yet registered. The property could still be revealed but with the title number identified as 'na'. In this scenario you will need to track down the original title deeds which could be with your parent’s mortgage company.