My husband and I are hoping to purchase a house in Curdworth and are in fact using a Curdworth conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Coventry Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Curdworth solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Curdworth solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

I am the registered owner of a freehold residence in Curdworth yet pay rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Curdworth and has limited impact for conveyancing in Curdworth but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.

What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Principality Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Curdworth?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my father I am disposing of a property in Newport but live in Curdworth. My conveyancer (approximately 235 miles from merequires that I sign a stat dec ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Curdworth to attest this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Curdworth based

I want to let out my leasehold apartment in Curdworth. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Your lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Curdworth do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Curdworth - Examples of Queries before buying

Please note if it is less than 80 years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years in order to be eligible to extend the lease. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? In the main the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Curdworth require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance.