It has come to my attention via my mortgage adviser that my London property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your London lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Lloyds Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in London?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

I was recommended by a number of estate agents in London to get a quote from a solicitor using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your services ahead of a competitor’s?

We refuse to make any commission for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in London. I've land on a web site which seems to have the ideal answer If there is a chance to get all the legals done via email that would be preferable. Do I need to be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a London conveyancing firm to help?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a London conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a London residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 73.26 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in London what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in London is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

A duty to insure the building Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.