Much to our surprise we have been notified by our lender that my Finchampstead property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?

The first thing you need to do is to call your Finchampstead lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.

My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Finchampstead. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to UBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you intend to re-mortgage then UBS will insist on your using a conveyancer on the UBS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your UBS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the UBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Finchampstead. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in April. I want to move. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my property ownership will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in April. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. How sensible a view lenders take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this obligation primarily exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.

Is it the case that all Finchampstead conveyancing solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

My wife and I are in the throws of viewing flats in Finchampstead and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a home loan with Yorkshire BS.

It would be prudent to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

Is it possible to swap conveyancer as I have to find a firm on the Barnsley Building Society conveyancing panel. I instructed a family conveyancing solicitor in Finchampstead five minutes from me but she is not accepted by Barnsley Building Society

It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Finchampstead on the Barnsley Building Society panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are under regulation of the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Finchampstead. In making use of the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Finchampstead.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Finchampstead. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the maintenance contribution as you normally would given that all rents and service charges will be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Finchampstead Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Finchampstead ask leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific payment.