My wife and I are looking to acquire a flat in Great Barford and have instructed a Great Barford conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Clydesdale have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Great Barford solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Great Barford lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We are about to sign contracts for a leasehold flat in Great Barford. We have hit a snag. Our loan offer with Virgin Money runs out on 31/10/2024 but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of 4/11/2024. Can one prolong the loan expiry date?

The person best placed to deal with your question is your solicitors who should assess if they corresponding with the lender, owner’s lawyers, property agents or conceivably all parties given the history of your conveyancing to date.

My home in Great Barford is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will my conveyancer have to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.

My brother has suggested that I appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Great Barford. Should I use them?

There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to have feedback from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Great Barford. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Great Barford are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Great Barford in which case you should be shopping around for a Great Barford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.