My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Leicestershire. I I would like to check if they are on the HSBC Bank conveyancing panel. Can you help?

You should contact your solicitor and enquire whether they are on the lender panel. Otherwise you can call HSBC Bank who may be able to assist.

Me and my brother have a renovated Victorian house in Leicestershire. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Leicestershire and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Leicestershire I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Leicestershire in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they 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.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Leicestershire where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Leicestershire conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Leicestershire - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? It would be wise to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Leicestershire. If you love the propertyin Leicestershire yet your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property?

Our mortgage broker has recommended their property lawyer for our conveyancing in Leicestershire - Is it not simpler easier to just use them?

It is not always the case and you are entitled to opt for whichever lawyer you prefer for your Leicestershire home move. The lawyer suggested by a 3rd party adviser may not necessarily be the best conveyancer, they may recommend their preferred conveyancing firm who are based remotely. In this instance you may not have contact with your conveyancer and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain updates.