I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Hathern and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are switching solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Hathern ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

Are the Hathern conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the RBS conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by RBS?

Hathern conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from RBS directly.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Hathern I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Hathern suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Hathern. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Hathern who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Hathern conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I acquired a split level flat in Hathern, conveyancing having been completed in 1995. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding flats in Hathern with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2089

With just 65 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

My wife and I have AIP from Leeds Building Society who indicated that they will lend up to £117k. At what point do we need to appoint a lawyer for conveyancing? Hathern is where we plan to move to.

You can appoint a solicitor now so that the solicitor can open the ledger so they can commence the ID checks etc. Once you wish them to commence work you will be asked for a payment on account normally about £200. That would generally be after you have the mortgage offer and survey back, nevertheless if you want to speed matters you can get going quicker albeit risking some money.