I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Godmanchester and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Godmanchester ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

My partner and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a property in Godmanchester and my mum and dad have transferred the 10% deposit to my solicitor. I am now informed that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must advise them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the mortgage company about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for this now to hold matters up?

Your conveyancing practitioner is legally required to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only notify this to your lender if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

My partner and I are intent on selling our home in Godmanchester and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Godmanchester. We have lived in Godmanchester for 5 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £250,000 flat in Godmanchester in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Godmanchester?

Godmanchester conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

Completing pre-contract questions Where consent is required before sale in Godmanchester Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Godmanchester leasehold property is £350. For Godmanchester conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Godmanchester Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

It would be a good idea to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Godmanchester leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Godmanchester. If you love the apartmentin Godmanchester but your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard compromise. Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although some managing agents in Godmanchester obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance.

Me and my partner are planning to purchase a 2 bedroom maisonettein Godmanchester with a home loan from a mortgage company. We wish to instruct our lawyer in Godmanchester but our mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose from the our bank panel solicitors or keep our Godmanchester solicitor and incur the extra costs for one of their panel ones to represent our lender. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage company home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had open panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Godmanchester : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.