We are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Mansfield Woodhouse with a mortgage. We like our Mansfield Woodhouse lawyer, but the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or continue with our Mansfield Woodhouse property lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to demand that the lender use our Mansfield Woodhouse solicitor ?

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 lender’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 Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I am in a contract race with another prospective purchaser for a property in Mansfield Woodhouse. What can be done to quicken up the legal process?

First, If the seller is applying pressure for your conveyancing it is highly recommended that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will have local relationships and intelligence. It is even conceivable that they could have conducted previoushouses in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing lawyer. Second, double check that the lawyer is on the member panel. It is estimated that 18% of Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing deals are suspended or jeopardised after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the transaction being frustrated by an average of 21 days. It is believed that this issue impacts in the region of one hundred thousand home moves every year. Most Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing firms can not represent certain banks so do check as early as possible.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Mansfield Woodhouse ahead of appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to give a loan on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can look into this further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Mansfield Woodhouse. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Mansfield Woodhouse to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Is it best to choose a Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal work but her office is approximately 350miles drive away.

The benefit of a local Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Mansfield Woodhouse know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and on the whole were impressed that must trump using an unfamiliar Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Mansfield Woodhouse based.

Completion is due on the sale of our £400,000 maisonette in Mansfield Woodhouse next Thursday. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Mansfield Woodhouse?

For most leasehold sales in Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Completing pre-exchange questions Where consent is required before sale in Mansfield Woodhouse Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Mansfield Woodhouse leasehold property is £350. For Mansfield Woodhouse conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Mansfield Woodhouse Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

How many years are left on the lease? Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Ask other tenants what they think of their management. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that the service charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes. If a Mansfield Woodhouse lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Mansfield Woodhouselease extensions you will need to own the residence for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.