My fiance and I are planning to acquire a house in Finchampstead and are in fact using a Finchampstead conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. HSBC Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Finchampstead lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 mortgage company 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 Finchampstead solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Finchampstead. I need to find out whether they are on the National Westminster Bank approved list of lawyers. Could you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?

You should e-mail the solicitor and enquire if they can act for the lender. Otherwise you should call National Westminster Bank who may be able to confirm.

I was advised by a few estate agents in Finchampstead to get a quote from a conveyancer using your seach tool. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers rather than another?

We don’t make any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

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

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Finchampstead do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Finchampstead - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Most Finchampstead leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. Should you purchase the flat you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly accross the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have full disclosure Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will likely increase the service costs?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Finchampstead. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Finchampstead ?

The majority of houses in Finchampstead are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Finchampstead in which case you should be looking for a Finchampstead conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.