I am selling my maisonette in Glenfield and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Glenfield ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

I am approaching an exchange on a flat in Glenfield and my parents have transferred the 10% deposit to my . I am now advised that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my needs to make a notification to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the mortgage company he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I advised the lender regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?

Your is legally required to clarify with mortgage company to ensure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only disclose this to your bank if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Do I need to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when acquiring a property in Glenfield?

Unless a prior purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may expect conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Glenfield to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

Glenfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Who are the managing agents? Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared by the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific invoice. Most Glenfield leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically throughout the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

Sixweeks into buying a house in Glenfield. Conveyancing solicitor has told us the property is "Leasehold". Will this likely make a difference on our Santander valuation?

Glenfield conveyancing does not normally involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the saleability too much.

At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, 50 years it is bound to have a adverse impact on the value, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be specified in the lease provided to your .