My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a property in Egremont and are in fact using a Egremont conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barnsley Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Egremont lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Egremont solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in Egremont?

If you are buying a property in Egremont your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Ordinarily this is called for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is as part of the purchase price then this should be required shortly ahead of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is needed should be transferred shortly before completion.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Egremont

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Egremont and Solicitor firms in Egremont who can assist with your conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. They may both also handle other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Egremont solicitor on the RBS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Egremont. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. Not long after, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the HSBC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am buying a new build apartment in Egremont. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Egremont

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Egremont conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Egremont conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Egremont conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:

Can they put you in touch with clients in Egremont who can give a testimonial?

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Egremont, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Egremont with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2088

With only 63 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.