Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Gravesend. Please clarify why all Gravesend lawyers are not on all bank panels?

Even though it may seem unfair for lenders to restrict who can act for them, from the public’s or solicitor’s perspective, the flip side is that mortgage companies are increasingly anxious and feel it vital to defend themselves from mortgage fraud. As a result of this concern mortgage companies are limiting their conveyancing panel to a size that they are happy to control.

IfI was to acquire a simple residential homein Gravesend mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Gravesend?

Any savings you would achieve would be limited to the disbursement for searches. A lawyer is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with your vendors solicitor, SDLT return, register the ownership etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a mortgage however it won't be meaningful.

I got the keys to my house on 14 September and the transaction details are still not on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Gravesend advises it would be formalised inside ten days. Are properties in Gravesend particularly slow to register?

As far as conveyancing in Gravesend is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than the rest of England and Wales. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry must send notices to any interested parties. At present approximately 80% of such applications are fully addressed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to extensive hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the new owner has moved in to the premises therefore 'speed' is not always top priority yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor must communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Gravesend. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I purchased a split level flat in Gravesend, conveyancing formalities finalised April 1995. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Gravesend with a long lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2094

With just 69 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

My nephew is just in the process of moving home, he had his mortgage in principle. When the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we called the building society to go forward with his. I was shocked to learn that mortgage companies do not accept all conveyancer, they need to be on their approved list, is this right?

Mortgage Companies tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Gravesend solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.