We are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Leeswood with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Leeswood solicitor, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Leeswood conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Leeswood conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

is it true that all Leeswood conveyancing solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Leeswood. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Leeswood. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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.

Will my conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Leeswood.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Leeswood. There are those who buy a property in Leeswood, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Leeswood. The standard completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past which is not notified by the seller, then a buyer may issue a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also order an enviro report. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be carried out.

I am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in Leeswood for my home move. Is it possible to review a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?

Anyone may see presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training reasons.

What makes a Leeswood lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Leeswood is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a garden flat in Leeswood, conveyancing formalities finalised June 2004. 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? Equivalent properties in Leeswood with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2092

With 71 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.