We are looking to buy a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Great Barford who is on the TSB solicitor panel. Can you recommend a local firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for TSB . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Great Barford.

We previously selected conveyancers with offices in Great Barford on the Barclays solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me an additional sum for the legal aspects of the Barclays mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Barclays?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner can levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Barclays but by your Great Barford lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Barclays panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Skipton as we wish to carry out improvements to our home in Great Barford. Do we need to select a nearby Great Barford solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Skipton do not ordinarily appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Skipton conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Great Barford. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £200. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

We are downsizing from our property in Great Barford and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Great Barford conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers used a factory type conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Great Barford. We have lived in Great Barford for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must 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)

We are one month into a residential purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Great Barford. I am am very disappointed with the quality of service. Can you help me find new conveyancers?

They would need to be really poor to suggest replacing them. Has your loan offer been generated? In the event that it has you will need to inform them of the replacement lawyer and get the loan are re-issued. Your conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid escalating fees and complications. So that should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our search tool should help you find a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Great Barford

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Great Barford. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Great Barford.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Great Barford - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Is anyone aware of any major works anticipated that will increase the maintenance charges? Most Great Barford leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you acquire the property you will have to pay this liability, normally quarterly accross the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive.