My husband and I are looking to acquire a home in Kingston and have appointed a Kingston conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Kingston solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Kingston lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

My uncle pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Kingston there may be a number of restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in Kingston which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Kingston should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Can you help - my lawyer says that missing deeds insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Kingston conveyancing?

The appropriate level of missing deeds indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

How can we know in advance if a Kingston conveyancing solicitor on the RBS panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Kingston seeking recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer carrying out your conveyancing.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in Kingston I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kingston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

If you require a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

Last November I purchased a leasehold property in Kingston. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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).

Kingston Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Generally speaking the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Kingston require tenants to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. If a Kingston lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or necessitate a one time invoice.

I'm buying a house in Kingston. I can find my conveyancer's company on the CLC list, but I can't locate my conveyancer's name on the list. Should I be concerned?

Not every individual in the company must be listed by the regulator. Provided there is a manager qualified to 'oversee' the work, the actual day-to-day activity can be undertaken by unqualified staff.