I am progressing with the sale of my house in Great Ayton and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Great Ayton ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered 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 as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

My conveyancer has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Great Ayton. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must check that the bank is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?

Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their specifications for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.

What does a local search tell me regarding the property we're purchasing in Great Ayton?

Great Ayton conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Searches UK The local search plays an important part in most Great Ayton conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty surprises after you move into your property. The search should reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject headings.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Great Ayton I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Great Ayton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years will be an issue. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Great Ayton and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Great Ayton. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Great Ayton area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Great Ayton. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found