I was advised today by my mortgage broker that my Lambeth property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. How can I be sure whether this is correct?

The first thing you need to do is to contact your Lambeth conveyancer. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

Are all Lambeth Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the UBS conveyancing list of approved practices?

Some major lenders now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.

We were going to get a AIP from Nottingham this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nottingham recommend any Lambeth solicitors on the Nottingham conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Lambeth solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nottingham through the process.

I have a mortgage with Kent Reliance for my property in Lambeth. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Kent Reliance?

Kent Reliance must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Kent Reliance’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Kent Reliance will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Kent Reliance directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor.

I have todaybecome aware that Stirling Law have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Lambeth for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Lambeth conveyancing specialists.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Lambeth I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Lambeth for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage that many years will be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Lambeth conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Lambeth conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Lambeth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions might be of use:

How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation? If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Lambeth. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Lambeth conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Lambeth premises is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case affected 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 56 years.