I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Lees and Moorside and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Lees and Moorside ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

We just had an offer accepted to purchase with Loughborough BS. We have called around locally but am struggling to find a Lees and Moorside conveyancing firm on the Loughborough BS panel. Could you help?

You should make use of the search tool on this page. Please choose the building society and type Lees and Moorside or your location and you will be presented with numerous conveyancers located in Lees and Moorside or nearest you.

I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Lees and Moorside in advance of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may not issue a mortgage on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Lees and Moorside. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Lees and Moorside to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lees and Moorside from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lees and Moorside can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ lawyers.
Many freeholders or managing agents in Lees and Moorside charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lees and Moorside. Some Lees and Moorside leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

Lees and Moorside Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Be sure to enquire if the the lease includes any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Lees and Moorside. If you like the flatin Lees and Moorside yet your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard decision. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?

My wife and I have just had an offer accepted on a apartment and had meeting on Wednesday with the Post Office for the mortgage. They warned us that when it comes to choosing a solicitor that if they are not on their approved panel of conveyancing practitioners then we will have to pay out an additional fee of about two hundred pounds. This is because they would then have to appoint a solicitor to act for them as well as the one we choose to act on our behalf and we are liable for their costs. I have requested the Post Office to supply me with a list so I can obtain quotes only from their approved solicitors but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. Is there a list online?

You should ask the Post Office what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Thereafter ask the lawyer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for the Post Office before. Where the answer to those is yes, then just double check with the Post Office. Another option is to utilise our search facility and we should be able to locate a property lawyer in Lees and Moorside on the panel for the Post Office.